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ORGANISATION 


a 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  SOCIAL  ORGANISATION 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  SOCIAL  ORGANISATION 


OR 


IN    THE 


LIGHT   OF    THEO8OPHY 


BY 


BHAGAVAN  DAS,  M.  A. 

Being  the  expanded  form  of  a  series  of  lectures  delivered 

at  the  Thirty-fourth  Annual  Convention  of  the 

Theosophical  Society,  held  at  Benares, 

on  December  27th  to  30th,  1909. 


THEOSOPHICAL    PUBLISHING    SOCIETY 
Benares  and  London 

THE   THEOSOPHIST   OFFICE 

ADYAR,    MADRAS,    S. 
1910 


...     ,   / 


II 


PRINTED    BY    ANNIE    BESANT,    AT    THE    VAS.ANTA    PRESS,    ADVAR. 


BP 

f   •   ft 

DIGS  i 

INTRODUCTION 


IT  is  with  very  great  pleasure  that  I  introduce 
this  book,  for  I  believe  that  it  deserves  the  thought- 
ful attention  of  the  Indian  and  English  public,  and 
contains  ideas  and  suggestions  of  the  greatest  value 
for  all  who  are  interested  in  the  vexed  questions 
of  the  day.  Society,  at  the  present  time,  is  at  a< 
deadlock,  unable  to  go  forward  into  the  future 
without  finding  solutions  for  the  problems  of  our 
time,  and  yet  impelled  forward  by  the  imperious 
law  of  evolution,  which  demands  progress  or 
sentences  to  death.  It  stands  at  the  edge  of  a 
precipice,  and  sees  no  way  to  safety.  Over  the 
edge  it  must  go — as  previous  civilisations  have 
gone,  carrying  their  treasures  of  refinement  and 
culture  with  them — unless  it  can  find  some  Ark  of 
safety  to  carry  it  from  the  old  to  the  new. 

Such    an    Ark   may   be  found  in    the  Wisdom  of 

our  great  Progenitor   Maim,  the  Father  of  the  whole 

^  Aryan    Race.      His    precepts    cannot     be     followed 

/^blindly   in    an   age    so   far   removed   from    that    in 

which   He   spoke ;   but    His    ideas    contain    alii  the 

meeded  solutions,   and    to  apply  the  essential  ideas 

3 


Vlll 

to  modern  conditions  is  the  work  which  needs  to 
be  done  and  which  will  receive  His  blessing  in  the 
doing.  The  present  volume  is  an  attempt  to 
suggest  a  few  adaptations  by  one  who  is  full  of 
reverence  for  the  ancient  Ideals  of  his  people,  and 
who  believes  that  these  are  living  powers,  not  dead 
shells,  full  of  reforming  and  I'eshaping  strength. 

The  book  has  far  outgrown  the  original  lectures, 
but  has  in  it,  I  think,  nothing  superfluous  or  irrele- 
vant. For  the  sake  of  the  learned,  both  Asiatic 
and  European,  the  authorities  have  been  quoted 
in  their  original  Samskrt ;  for  the  sake  of  the  un- 
learned, these  quotations  have  all  been  thrown  into 
foot-notes,  so  that  the  English  may  run  smoothly 
and  unbrokenly.  Technical  terms  have  been 
translated,  but  the  originals  have  been  added 
within  brackets. 

One  explanatory  statement  should  be  made  as 
to  the  method  of  conveying  to  the  modern  reader 
the  thought  of  the  ancient  writer.  The  European 
Orientalist,  with  admirable  scrupulosity  and  tire- 
less patience,  works  away  laboriously  with  dic- 
tionary and  grammar  to  give  an  "  accurate  and 
scholarly  translation "  of  the  foreign  language 
which  he  is  striving  "to  interpret.  What  else  can 
he  do  ?  But  the  result,  as  compared  with  the 
original,  is  like  the  dead  pressed  *  specimen '  of 
the  botanist  beside  the  breathing  living  flower  of 
the  garden.  Even  I,  with  my  poor  knowledge  of 


IX 

Samskrt,  know  the  joy  of  contacting  the  pulsing 
virile  Scriptures  in  their  own  tongue,  and  the 
inexpressible  dulness  and  dreariness  of  their 
scholarly  renderings  into  English.  But  our  lec- 
turer is  a  Hindu,  who  from  childhood  upwards 
has  lived  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  elder  days ; 
he  heard  the  old  stories  before  he  could  read, 
sung  by  grandmother,  aunt,  and  pandit ;  when  he 
is  tired  now,  he  finds  his  recreation  in  chanting 
over  the  well-loved  stanzas  of  an  Ancient 
(Purana),  crooning  them  softly  as  a  lullaby  to  a 
wearied  mind  j  to  him  the  '  well-constructed  langu- 
age' (Samskrt)  is  the  mother-tongue,  not  a  fo- 
reign language ;  he  knows  its  shades  of  meaning, 
its  wide  connotations,  its  traditional  glosses  cluster- 
ing round  words  and  sentences,  its  content  as 
drawn  out  by  great  commentators.  Hence  when 
he  wishes  'to  share  its  treasures  with  those  whose 
birthright  they  are  not,  he  pours  out  these  mean- 
ings in  their  richness  of  content,  gives  them  as 
they  speak  to  the  heart  of  the  Hindu,  not  to 
the  brain  of  the  European.  His  close  and  ac- 
curate knowledge  of  Samskrt  would  make  i* 
child's  play  for  him  to  give  "  an  accurate  and 
scholarly  translation "  of  every  quotation ;  he  has 
preferred  to  give  the  living  flowers  rather  the 
dried  specimens.  Orientalists,  in  the  pride  of 
their  Mastery  of  a  '  dead '  language,  will  very 
likely  scoff  at  the  rendei'ing  of  one  to  whom  it 


is  a  living  and  familiar  tongue,  who  has  not 
mastered  Samskrt  as  a  man  but  has  lived  in  it 
from  an  infant.  For  these,  the  originals  are 
given.  But  for  those  who  want  to  touch  the 
throbbing  body — rather  than  learn  the  names  of 
the  bones  of  the  skeleton — of  India's  Ancient 
Wisdom,  for  those  these  free  and  full  renderings  are 
given.  And  I  believe  that  they  will  be  welcomed 
and  enjoyed. 

ANNIE  BESANT 


O   Pure  of  Soul!   The  angels  raise  their  song, 
And  Truth's  light  blazeth  over  East  and  West ! 
Alas !  the  heedless  world  lies  fast  asleep, 
And  the  Dawn's  glory  wasteth  in  the  skies  ! 
O  Pure  of  Soul !  do  Y*  awake,  arise, 
And  open  wide  the  windows  of  your  hearts  , 
And  fill  them  with  the  shining  of  Day's  Star, 
And  with  the  heavenly  music  of  that  song, 
So,  when  the  laggards  wake,  they  may  not  lack 
Some  message  from  Ye  for  the  next  morn's  hope, 
Some  sign  and  token  that  their  kith  have  seen 
And  stood  before  the  Glory  face  to  face, 
And  that  they  also  may  if  they  but  will. 
Be  this  your  Sun-dawn  work,  Ye  Pure  of  Soul ! 


CONTENTS 

Pages . 
FOREWORD        ...  ...  ...  ...     xxiii 

LECTURE  I 
THE  FOUNDATION  OF  MANC'S  CODE  OF  LIFE 

Adhyatma-Vidya,  the  Science  of  the  Self. — The 
individualised  self  becomes  able  to  grasp  it  only  at  the 
human  stage  iii  evolution. — All  other  sciences  and  arts 
dependent  upon  it. — The  need  of  all  Kings  to  know  that 
Kingly  Science,  if  they  would  rule  well. — Manu,  the 
Great  Progenitor  of  the  Human  Race,  the  Prototype  of 
all  such  Kings. — His  Omniscience,  by  experience  of  previous 
world-cycles. — His  Assistants, — The  evil  effects  of  the 
blind  rule  of  those  who  knew  not  the  Science  of  the 
Self,  and  its  explanation  of  the  source  and  the  purpose  of 
life.  1-12 

The  Ancient  Theory  of  Life. — The  way  to  understand 
it. — The  reasou  why  the  '  modern '  finds  it  hard  to  under- 
stand the  '  ancient '. — The  difference  of  standpoint  and 
temperament  between  East  and  West,  old  and  young.— 
Hopes  of  mutual  approximations  and  better  understand- 
iijg. — The  Scriptures'  out  of  which  the  Theory  of  Life 
should  be  gathered.  ..  .  13-16 

The  main  outlines  of  the  Theory  of  Life. — The  rhyth- 
mic swing  of  the  Spirit's  Entrance  into  matter  and 
Retirement  out  of  it. — Recognised  in  all  systems  of 
thought  and  religion. — The  modern  scientific  ideas  of 
evolution  and  involution. — The  ancient  names,  P  r  a  v  r  1 1  i 
and  N  i  v  r  1 1  i,  Pursuit  and  Renunciation,  of  these  two 
halves  of  life. — The  cause  of  the  rhythmic  swing. — The 
Interplay  of  the  Self  and  the  Not-Self.— The  three  ends 


XIV 

of  the  tirst  half  of  life.— -(i.)  Dharma  which  means,  ethi- 
cally, Duty  ;  intellectually,  attribute  or  property  or  charac- 
ter; and  practically,  i.e.,  in  terms  of  action,  active  function ; 
(ii.)  Artha,  'that  which  is  desired,'  wealth,  possessions; 
and  (iii.)  Kama,  sense-enjoyments,  pleasures. — Why  Kama 
alone  not  declared  the  sole  end  of  the  first  half  of  life. 
—The  interdependence  of  the  three  ends. — The  modern 
notion  of  the  Debt  of  the  individual  to  Society. — The 
ancient  fulness  of  thought  on  the  subject.— The  three 
Debts  of  the  individual. — How  he  contracts  them  by 
birth  and  the  pursuit  of  the  three  ends  of  the  worldly 
life. — How  he  begins  to  repay  them. — The  passing  on  to 
the  second  half  of  life. — The  three  ends  thereof  :  b  h  a  k  t  i, 
yoga-aishvarya,  and  m  o  k  s  h  a. — Why  only  m  o  k  s  h  a  men- 
tioned mostly  as  the  sole  end  of  this  half. — Explanation  of 
paradoxes  of  the  spiritual  and  superphysical  life  and 
teachings.— The  predominance  of  the  impersonal  over  the 
personal  on  the  Path  of  Renunciation. — Repayment  of 
Debts,  of  the  physical  as  well  as  the  snperphysical  planes, 
by  the  bearing  of  the  burdens  of  office,  adhikara,  on 
smaller  and  larger  scales. — Bhakti,  Devotion  to  the 
Universal  Self,  as  well  as  to  the  next  higher  Personal 
Ideal  which  embodies  that  Self  for  the  aspirant,  as 
the  sole  means  of  Yoga-S  i  d  d  h  i  s  and  all  powers. — 
Illustration  from  the  physical  plane. — Spiritual  Hierarchies. 
— Correspondences  between  various  triplets. — Summary.  16-54 

LECTURE  II 
THE  WORT,D.PROCESS  AND  THE  PROBLEMS   OF  LIFE 

Resume. — The  interdependence  of  laws  and  eye-Hen) 
conditions. — Neglect  of  this  principle  in  later  India  and 
consequent  degeneration.-  -Brief  survey  of  the  principal 
changes  of  conditions  undergone  by  the  Human  Race 
since  its  advent  on  this  globe,  as  the  necessary  basis  of 


XV 

interpretation  of  existing  laws  of  Mann. — Rounds,  globes, 
races,  continents,  sub-races  and  countries. — The  first  or 
sexless  stage  and  Root-Race  of  the  Human  Race,  and 
the  homogeneous,  unorganised  shape  of  the  human  indi- 
vidual.— The  second  or  bi-sexual  stage  and  Root-Race. — 
The  third,  fourth  and  fifth  Root-Races,  and  the  stage  of 
sex-difference  and  differentiation  of  organs  in  the  body  of 
the  individual,  of  inequalities  between  individuals,  and 
therefore  of  laws  and  conventions. — (The  nature  of  the 
Puranax  from  which  the  bird's-eye  view  of  Human 
History  is  taken.) — Forecast  of  future  stages  and  Races ; 
the  sixth  as  double-sexed  again,  and  the  seventh  as  a- 
sexnal. — Comments  on  certain  points  arising  out  of  the 
bird's-eye  view. — -(a)  Support  given  by  the  Law  of  Ana- 
logy.- -(b)  Reason  for  prominence  given  to  sex -difference. 
— (c)  Relation  of  cause  and  effect  between  psychical  and 
physical  phenomena;  the  whole  truth  of  the  matter;  the 
partial  truths ;  a  question  of  standpoint ;  the  ancient 
standpoint — consciousness  first ;  support  offered  by  modern 
economics. — (d)  The  various  marvellous  s  i  <l  d  h  i  s  or 
powers. — («?)  The  descent  of  the  lower  kingdoms  from  the 
human,  in  the  round. — Reconciliation  between  ancient 
scripture  and  modern  science  as  regards  spontaneous 
generation  and  gradual  evolution;  (i.)  fixed  species,  (ii.)  gradual 
derivation  of  species,  higher  from  lower,  and  (iii.)  of 
lower  from  higher  again,  all  reconciled  by  the  presence 
of  infinite  possibilities  within  the  living  atom. — Living 
beings  as  moods  of  the  Creator's  consciousness.— Various 
ways  of  observing  and  counting  cycles. — Older  j  i  v  a  s 
giving  birth  to  vehicles  for  younger  and  then  acting  as 
their  guardian-ad  h  i  k  a  r  i  s. — The  eternal  wheel  of  Brahman.  55-86 

Laws,  in  the  modern  sense,  not  required  for  the  first 
two  stages  of  the  Human  Race. — But  necessary  in  the 
third,  the  stage  of  abolition  of  physical  equality,  frater- 
nity, liberty. — The  Descent  of  Laws  and  Sciences  with 


XVI 

Divine  Kings  and  Rshis,  to  guide  the  third  and  future 
Races. — The  advent  on  this  earth  of  new  j  I  v  a  s  from 
other  planets,  as  colonising  immigrants. — Manu's  Laws  the 
archetype  of  all  possible  and  actual  society,  religious  and 
legal  politics  within  the  epoch  of  sex-difference.  86-92 

The  problems  of  life  and  social  organisation  and  ad- 
ministration to  be  dealt  with. — Their  comparatively  small 
number. — The  spirit  in  which  they  are  dealt  with  usually 
at  the  present  time. — Of  discordant  struggle  instead 
of  harmony. — The  compensation,  viz.,  more  rapid  growth  of 
mind. — List  of  the  problems,  roughly  classified.— (i.)  Econo- 
mical.— (ii.)  Domestic,  and  those  relating  to  population. — -(iii.) 
Sanitary. — (iv.)  Educational. — (v.)  Administrative. — (vi.)  Indi- 
vidualist— Nationalist — Socialist— Humanist.  93-99 

Sudden  changes  and  new  experiments,  and  their  dangers. — 
The  proper  way  to  change,  by  gradual  and  wide-spread  soul- 
education. — Current  ways  of  temporising  with  difficulties  and 
hand-to-mouth  legislation.  99-102 

_  Mann's  treatment  of  the  problems. — Different  standpoint 
and  different  grouping. — (i.)  Childhood  and  youth. — (ii.)  Pater- 
familias.-— (iii.)  '  Recluse'  i.e.,  '  retired  from  competitive  busi- 
ness'.— (iv.)  Wandering  Ascetic. — (i.)  Brahmacharya,  Brahmaua 
aud  educational  problems. — (ii.)  Householder,  Vaishya,  and 
domestic,  sanitary,  populational  and  economical  problems. — 
(iii.)  Forest-dweller  or  'Retired'  public  worker,  Kshattriya  and 
administrative  problems. — (iv.)  The  Thrice-born,  the  Ascetic 
and  spiritual  problems.  102-106 

The  four  castes  and  four  orders  all  arising  from  the  order  of 
the    household. — The    overlapping  of    castes    and    orders;. 
Correspondences  between  the  two. — And  the  ends  of  Life.      107-110 

The   socialist   spirit    of  the    V  a  r  n  a  s  h  r  a  m  a   D  h  a  r  m  H 
in    the    highest   sense.  Ill 

Remarks  as  to  some  technical  words. — Wider  and  narrower 
significance  of  Dharma. — The  sources  of  D  liar  ma: — (i.) 
Direct  knowledge,  (ii.)  Memory  and  custom,  (iii.)  Example 


XV11 

(iv.)  Conscience. — The  promised  frnitsof  D  harm  a  :  Goodman 
here  and  happiness  hereafter. — Connexion  between  the  two. — 
Real  significance  of  Veda  and  Smrti. — The  way  to  interpret 
the  words  of  Manu. — Objections  and  answers. — Distinction  of 
Religions  and  Secular,  of  modern  growth. — Reason  thereof. — 
The  Varnashrama  Dharma  inclusive  of  all  men  and  all  reli- 
gions.— The  secret  meaning  of  the  Veda. — Misuse  of  the 
secret  knowledge. — Periodic  restorations  of  balance.  111-127 


LECTURE  III 

THK  PROBLEMS    OF  EDUCATION 

Resume.— Educational  problems  first  in  importance  ;  why. — 
Comparisons  between  ancient  and  modern  views. — The  main 
principle  of  education. — The  only  conditions  of  successful 
education,  fulfilment  of  which  inevitably  entails  failure. — (i.) 
The  time  of  life  best  suited  for  study.— Various  periods  of 
study  for  the  different  types  of  students. — The  Brahmana- 
type. — The  Kshattriya-type. — The  Vaishya-type.— (ii.)  What  to 
teach  and  how  to  teach  it. — Modern  perplexities. — Causes 
thereof. — Compensations. — The  Ancient  Way:  Predetermina- 
tion of  vocation  and  certainty  of  the  knowledge  needed.— 
Spirit  of  enquiry  encouraged  and  not  suppressed  in  ancient 
teaching. — Right  spirit  insisted  on. — Reason  of  certainty  of 
ancient  knowledge  :  the  indefeasible  and  self-evident  fact  of 
consciousness. — Contrast  with  modern  uncertainty. — Practical 
purposiveness  of  ancient  teaching. — (iii.)  Where  to  teach. — 
The  Housemaster-system. — Training  in  poverty,  frugality, 
endurance. — Comparisons  between  old  and  new. — (iv.)  Order 
and  comparative  importance  of  the  matters  taught  :  (a) 
The  ways  of  cleanliness  and  purity ;  (6)  Good  manners  and 
morals ;  lack  of  manners  due  to  lack  of  systematic  teaching  ; 
necessity  thereof  ;  Manu's  Code  of  manners  ;  the  main  princi- 
ples; the  same  observed  to-day  also,  but  in  the  wrong  spirit. — 
(c)  Physical  education. — Virgin  Chastity. — Its  high  physical 
B 


XY1U 

and  superphysical  results. — The  potencies  of  the  ancestral 
germinal  cell. — Lifelong  virgins ;  their  exemption  from 
ordinary  routine;  their  higher  powers  and  duties. — Various 
utilitarian  forms  of  physical  exercise. — Breathing  exercises 
laid  most  stress  on. — Their  supreme  value,  physical  and 
snperphysical. — Instruction  in  cooking  food  and  tending 
the  fires,  culinary  and  sacrificial,  i.e.  manipulation  of 
various  kinds  of  force. — (rf)  Religions  education. — The 
daily  sandhya. — Invocation  of  the  Sun,  Our  Visible  God, 
the  Ruler  of  our  world-system,  and  Representative  to  us 
of  the  Impersonal  Supreme. — The  proper  times  for  the 
daily  devotions. — The  practical  significance  of  the  G  a  y  a  t  r  i. 
— S  a  n  d  h  y  a  as  Yoga. — Its  high  value  and  many-sided 
uses. — (e)  Intellectual  instruction. — The  definite  certainty  of 
rhe  various  courses. — The  stress  laid  on  selective  memory 
as  against  plethora  of  books;  reasons. — Compensation  for 
modern  excess  of  books. — Vocabularies  and  Science  of 
Language  taught  first ;  why. — Then  Logic. — Evolutionary 
succession  of  observation,  memory,  reason.— (f)  Time-tables 
and  routines. — Vedas  and  the  subsidiary  sciences  studied 
on  different  days. — (</)  Posture  of  study.— (fr)  Hours  of 
study. — (0  Holidays. — Travelling. — Paucity  of  mechanical 
sciences  and  arts  in  the  ancient  scheme ;  why. — Great 
stress  laid  on  introspective  sciences;  why.  128-196 

The  education  of  Shudras. — By  means  of  popular  lectures 
and  expositions  of  the  Puranas.  196-199 

The  education  of  girls. — Partly  similar  to  and  paitly 
different  from  that  of  the  boys. — The  story  of  Subhadrfi. 
— More  instruction  given  to  them  in  the  fine  arts.-- 
Present  Indian  conditions. — Man  and  woman  as  halves  of  one 
whole. — Ancient  ideal,  not  of  equality,  but  of  organic 
identity. — Love  Divine.  199-209 


LECTURE  IV 

THE  PROBLEMS  OF  FAMILY  LIFE  AND  ECONOMICS 
OF  GOVERNMENT  AND  OF  RELIGION 

The  Problems  of  Domesticity.  —  Conjugal  relations.  — 
Monogamy-  *  and  mutual  faithfulness  unto  and  beyond 
death.  —  Polygamy,  polyandry,  repeated  marriages,  etc.,  al- 
lowed in  special  conditions  only.  —  In  praise  of  the  mother. 
—  The  mutual  uplifting  of  man  and  wife.  —  Marriage  as  a 
sacrament.  —  The  prime  law  of  eugenics.  —  The  confusion  of 
caste  and  its  consequences.  —  Hopes  for  the  future.  —  Distin- 
guishing characteristics  of  man  and  woman,  Purusha  and 
Prakrti.  211-224 

The    Problems   of   Population.—  Manu's   hint  against  over- 
multiplication.  —  The  eldest-bom  rmly  >.V)e  p.hilfl  of  phajun-a—  -* 
Efflf-inrllllflOTfT       PrT-TTTin  —  The 


mam  principle  of  sound  economics.  —  Failures  of  modern 
solutions  of  economical  difficulties,  due  to  neglect  thereof. 
—  Nature's  adjustments,  by  wars  and  epidemics.  —  Legal 
adjustments  by  change  from  primogeniture  to  equal 
partition.  224-229 

The  Problems  of  Sanitation.  —  Over-crowding,  the  essence 
of  the  difficulty.  —  Other  points.  —  Personal  cleanliness  and 
hygiene.  —  Exaggeration  and  distortion  of  the  rules  on 
this  point,  in  moderu  Hindudom.  —  The  daily  disinfection 
and  purification  of  houses.  —  Segregation  of  families  in 
mourning.  —  Dispersal  of  crowding,  the  only  remedy.  230-236 

Thd     Problems  Of  Tflnnrmmir-a  —  Mn.nn'sj    fiplutions  ;      CO-Opei'a- 

tion     the     key-note     of     all.  —  The    contrary    principle    of 


modern  civilisation;  competition. — Comparisons. — Advanta- 
ges of  the  ideal  of  plain  living  and  high  thinking. — 
Modern  misinterpretations. — The  four  principal  vocation* 
and  corresponding  types  or  castes  of  men. — Changes  of 
caste ;  frequent  in  the  earliest  past,  less  so  in  the  mid- 
way condition  of  complete  differentiation,  more  frequent 


XX 

again  in  the  future. — Present  confusion  and  gradual  rever- 
sion to  homogeneity. — Inner  characteristics,  the  only 
determinants. — The  bearing  of  astrology  on  caste  and 
birth. — Its  revival  in  the  future.  237-246 

The  Brahmana. — His  chief  duties. — His  means  of  live- 
lihood and  vocation;  study  and  teaching. — Advantages  of 
separating  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  from  all  other  pur- 
suits.— The  Brahmana's  title  to  honor. 

The  Brahmana  as  Priest,  Scientist  and  Educationalist 
The  worship  of  the  Brahmana  and  the  cow. — The  solu- 
tion of  educational  problems  by  means  of  the  Brahmana  caste. 
— The  continual  '  education '  of  all,  young  and  old,  high 
and  low,  prince  and  people,  official  and  subject,  by  the 
Brahnianas. — The  beauty  of  the  ancient  life  and  spirit.  246-263 

The  Kshatfriya  as  Soldier  and  Administrator 
The  meaning  of  the  word  Kshattriya. — His  duties. — The 
King,  the  true  father  of  his  people. — How  to  wield  the 
sceptre  of  power. — Details  of  administration  and  policy. — 
Constant  insistence  on  the  right  spirit  of  working  as  far 
more  important  than  details. — Judicious  forgiveness  and 
tolerance. — Taxation  and  expenditure. — National  defence. — 
The  high  destiny  of  the  righteous  warrior. — Forecast  as 
to  wars  in  the  future. — Inner  conditions  of  external 
change  to  new  form  of  civilisation. — Mann's  ideal  of  the 
form  of  government. — The  Kshattriya  King  not  an  auto- 
crat at  all,  but  only  the  executive  arm  of  the  Brahmana 
as  guiding  head. — The  Legislative  Council. — Self-denial  and 
purity  of  life  are  more  essential  qualifications  in  legislator 
than  even  knowledge.— Legislation  by  the  disinterested 
and  few  wise. — Contrast  with  modern  systems  of  legisla- 
tion by  the  interested  many. — Self-government  as  enjoined 
by  Manu  — Difference  of  the  idnals  of  the  Fifth  and  the 
Sixth  Root-Races. — The  germs  of  all  religious  and  all  forms 
of  civilisation  belonging  to  the  Fifth  Root- Race  present  in 
the  V  a  r  n  a  s  h  r  a  111  a  P  h  a,  r  ui  a  of  its  first  sub-race,  and  to 


XXI 

redevelop    in  its  seventh.     Maim's  scheme  of  punishments. — 
The    Ideal    King.  263-295 

The  Vaixhijtt  at  Agriculturist  and  Merchant 
Economical  problems  proper  in  the  charge  of  the 
Vaishya. — Honor  paid  to  productive  labor  and  its  product. 
— In  praise  of  the  '  daily  bread  '. — Superphysical  benefits 
of  pure  and  bloodless  food. — '  Religious '  restraints  on  the 
animal  appetites. — The  false  glamor  and  glory  of  artificial 
occupations  which  are  mere  means,  as  compared  with  the 
simple  offices  of  the  household,  which  are  as  end. — The 
high  calling  of  the  Vaishya. — Proper  proportion  of 
Vaishyas  to  other  castes. — Deprecation  of  huge  machinery. 
—The  spirit  of  altruism  to  govern  all  use  of  wealth.  295-310 
The  Shudra  an  Manual  Worker 

The  problems  of  labor  solved  by  means  of  the  Shudra. 
—The  mistake  of  the  modern  notion  that  the  Shudra 
was  a  slave  and  a  victim. — The  Shudra  is  the  inchoate 
plasm  out  of  which  the  others  differentiate  and  evolve 
and  into  which  they  may  all  return  again  by  retrogression. 
-The  duties  and  the  privileges  of  the  Shudra.— Except- 
ional opportunities  given  to  exceptional  Shudras. — The 
ancii'nt  spirit  of  tenderness  and  benevolence  towards  the 
Shudras. — Vyiisa's  special  labors  for  these.  311-319 

Mixed  Canter 

The  problem  of  special  arts  and  crafts  entrusted  to  the 
mixed  castes. — The  psycho-physics  of  arts  and  crafts. — 
Mann's  conditions  of  honor  or  otherwise  with  regard  to 
the  practice  of  the  tine  arts. — The  fine  arts  must  not 
subserve  money-making  and  sensuality. 

In     praise  of  "  the    strenuous   life  ".—Observance    of   due 
proportion     and    avoidance     of    exaggeration    in  all    depart- 
ments  of    life.  319-323 
The    V  a  n  a-P  rax  t  h  »   <>r   Retired  '  Forest-Dweller  ' 

The  third  stage  of  life  and  unremunerated  public 
work. — The  duties  of  the  man  retired  from  the  competitive 


XX11 

life. — Sacrifice  and    repayment    the    key-note    of    the    stage. 
-—Preliminary   superphysical    developments  in     Initiations  in 

Yoga.  324-327 

8 anny a s a 

The  fourth  and  last  stage  of  life  and  the  problem  of 
the  spiritual  life. — The  duties  of  the  Renunciant  and  the 
Saint. — The  means  of  clearing  off  past  karma.  The  volun- 
tary parting  from  the  physical  body. — Efforts  to  reach  the 
White  Lodge. — The  mutual  relation  of  the  stages  of  life. — 
The  problem  of  the  superphysical  and  the  spiritual  life. — 
The  kinds  of  Mukti  and  the  various  types  of  Muktas.  328-334 
The  Spirit  of  Mania's  Lav* 

The  higher  Socialism. — The  significance  of  '  reform  '. — 
The  work  of  the  Theosophical  Society  in  reforming  the 
Race  and  leading  it  from  blind  competition  to  conscious 
and  wise  co-operation. — Ways  of  gradual  restoration  of 
the  old  scheme. — Glimpses  of  the  future.  334-340 

Conclusion 

The   reason  why    the  Avataras   and  Founders  of  lleligions 
have     apparently     exaggerated      single     factors    of    Maiiu's 
scheme. — The     Christ    and    the    Prophet ;    the   omission    of 
Karma   and   Rebirth  from    their   teachings,     and    insistence 
on  individual  salvation. — Their  further  insistence  on  submis- 
sion  to   the  Divine    Will. — The    Buddha's     teaching  of   non- 
individualism. — The  main  purpose  of  the  Avatara  of  Krshna.- 
All  religions   tend  to    make    peace    on    earth  and    good-will 
among  men  by  proclaiming  the    Common   Self   as  the  Ulti- 
mate  of   all. — All   prepare,  iii    our   particular  evolution,  for 
the    coming    sub-race    and     Root-Race. — The    characteristic 
of   that   sub-race   and    Race.- -The   endless    Races,    Rounds, 
Chains,  Systems  of  the  Infinite  World-Process. — Self-realisa- 
tioii,     the     One     Common     and      Eternal     Purpose    of    them 
all.  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...     340-348 

APPENDIX   ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...     349-358 

DEIWATION  ,     359-360 


FOREWORD 

SOMEWHERE  in  the  published  writings  of  H.  P.  Blavat- 
sky  it  is  said  that  all  earnest  Theosophists  should  be 
advised  to  study  Manu.  I  had  therefore  been  looking 
from  time  to  time  into  the  scripture  which  goes  by  the 
name  of  Manu-Smrti  or  Mnnu-Snmhita.  Coming  to 
know  of  this,  our  beloved  President  desired  me  to  lay 
before  our  brothers  and  sisters,  on  the  present  occasion, 
in  a  brief  form,  in  modern  ways  of  thinking  and  of 
speaking,  as  far  as  possible,  the  ideas  I  might  have 
gathered  from  the  reading  of  that  ancient  ordinance. 
I  should  say  at  the  outset,  that  the  study — indeed  it 
should  be  called  only  reading — has  been  very  cursory, 
and  the  student  has  been  lacking  in  almost  every 
needed  qualification.  But  if  faith  abundant  be  a 
qualification,  then  that  has  not  been  lacking.  I  have 
read,  not  in  the  spirit  of  the  critical  and  learned 
scholar  and  antiquarian,  superior  to  his  subject,  but 
with  the  reverence  of  the  humble  learner  who  wishes 
to  understand,  for  practical  instruction  and  for  guid- 
ance, so  far  as  may  be,  in  present  day  life,  ever  mind- 
ful of  his  own  inability,  and  ever  holding  his  judgment 
in  suspense  where  he  cannot  understand. 

"  Read  the  things  of  the  flesh  with  the  eyes  of  the 
spirit,  not  the  things  of  the  spirit  with  the  eyes  of  the 
flesh" — said  a  Master.  To  interpret  the  words  of 


XXIV  FOREWORD 

Manu,  as  of  all  the  real  scriptures  of  all  the  nations, 
mere  grammar  and  dictionary,  however  laboriously 
used,  are  not  enough — unless  perhaps  they  be  Samskrt 
grammar  and  dictionary.  But  Samskrt  Shabda-Shastra 
is  not  mere  grammar  and  dictionary,  but  the  whole 
Science  of  Language,  which  is  inseparable  from 
the  Science  of  Thought  and  of  Exegesis,  Nyaya  and 
Mimamsa. 

This  is  said,  to  obviate  hasty  objections  that  the 
renderings  of  the  Samskrt  texts,  in  the  following 
lectures,  put  new  ideas  into  the  old  words.  In  the  matter 
of  all  subjective  knowledge,  there  are  not  new  ideas 
enough,  yet,  to  exhaust  the  richness  of  content  of  the 
old  words  of  the  'well-constructed'  and  'consecrated' 
language.  Those  who  have  done  the  work  of 
translation  with  open  mind,  and  with,  what  is  even 
more  needed,  open  heart — as  ready,  at  least,  to  see  the 
good  points  of  the  work  under  translation  as  the  weak 
ones — they  know  that  the  many  shades  of  meaning, 
which  have  become  attached  by  varied  and  long 
continued  associations  to  the  important  words  of  any 
language,  cannot  be  adequately  rendered  by  single 
words  from  another  language.  Every  race,  inspired  by 
its  own  distinctive  '  ruling  passion  '  constructs  its  own 
language,  as  all  its  other  appliances  of  life,  in  order 
to  suit  the  particular  aspect  of  divine  manifestation 
which  it  represents.  Therefore  exact  equivalents  in 
any  two  languages  are  very  difficult  to  find.  Hence, 
the  frequent  need  to  express  the  many  shades  of 


FOREWORD  XXV 

meaning  of  an  older  and  a  fuller  word  by  many  words 
of  a  newer  language,  not  yet  so  full  in  subjective 
knowledge.  Those  who  are  best  circumstanced  to 
live  in,  and  to  live  themselves  into,  the  modern  as 
well  as  the  ancient  types  and  phases  of  civilisation, 
may  be  most  safely  trusted  to  interpret  truly  the 
latter  to  the  former. 

With  this  brief  foreword  I  proceed  to  my  duty. 


LECTURE  I 

THE  FOUNDATION  OF  MANI'S  CODE  OP  LIFE 


JTT?  I 
undaka   Upanishat,  I.  i.  1. 


«-Hrt<l^  <qsr1S|H^I  1*5^1.  I 
T  W^^l^l^^3Fn**K'r)«4ll*H5tJvn3!i?t  II        Manu,  vi.  82. 

Brahma  declared  unto  His  eldest  son,  Atharva,  the 
Science  of  Brahman,  which  verily  is  the  foundation  of 
all  other  sciences. 

All  this  whatsoever,  that  is  designated  by  the  word 
'  This,'  all  this  is  made  of  the  substance  of  and  is  held 
together  by  thought  and  thought  alone.  He  who  know- 
eth  not  the  subjective  science,  the  Science  of  the  Self,  he 
can  make  no  action  truly  fruitful. 


THE  forest-chants  of  that  part  of  the  Rg-veda 
which  is  known  as  the  Aitareya  Aranyaka,  sing  how 
minerals  exist,  plants  feel,  and  animals  know,  but 
know  not  that  they  exist  and  feel  and  know ;  while 
man  exists,  feels,  knows,  and  also  knows  that  he 
exists,  feels,  knows.  Because  of  this  appearance  of 


£  MANU    IN    THt!    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOl'HY 

self-consciousness  in  him  for  the  first  time  in  the 
course  of  evolution  of  our  world-system,  is  it  possible 
for  him  to  know  the  Greater  Self  and  understand  the 
method  and  the  reason  of  the  World-process.  Be- 
cause of  this  and  this  alone,  is  he  truly  the  man,  the 
thinker,  son  of  Maim,  the  all-thinker.  The  others 
cannot  think  thus  comprehensively,  with  this  self- 
reference  of  all  that  is  before  and  after,  distinguishing 
between  the  Self  and  what  is  not  the  Self,  and  so 
grasping  the  whole  essence  of  the  World-process. 
In  them  all  the  manifestation  of  the  Self  is  but  par- 
tial, though  in  ever-increasing  degree  :  first  of  only 
the  existence  (sat)  aspect  of  the  Supreme,  then  of 
that  and  bliss  (a  n  a  n  d  a),  then  of  these  and  a  little  of 
consciousness  (chit).  In  man  the  manifestation  finds 
comparative  completeness,  and  he  therefore  fulfils  the 
purpose  and  is  the  turning-point  of  the  world-system. 
At  the  stage  of  man  alone  the  separated  self, 
termed  the  j  I  v  a,  becomes  capable  of  salvation,  in 
the  words  of  Christian  seers ;  of  beatitude,  in  the 
language  of  the  mystics ;  of  n  i  r  v  a  n  a  and  the  extinc- 
tion of  the  sense  of  separate  individuality,  for  the 
followers  of  the  Buddha;  of  moksha  and  freedom  from 
the  bonds  of  doubt  and  error  and  matter,  for  the 
student  of  Vedanta;  of  kaivalyam,  realisation 
of  oneness,  the  Unity  of  the  Universal  and  the 
only  Consciousness,  in  the  phi*ase  of  the  Yoga.  In 
man,  that  principle  which  is  variously  called  the 
mind  (m  a  n  a  s),  the  means  and  instrument  of  think- 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANIAS    CODE    OP    LIFE  3 

ing,  or  the  inner  organ  (an  t  ah  k  a  ra  n  a),  or  the 
conscious  individual  atom  (c  h  i  t  $  a-a  n  u),  attains  that 
degree  of  development  whereby  it  can  become  the 
bridge  between  the  finite  and  the  infinite,  between 
the  endless  past  and  future  on  the  one  hand  and  the 
eternal  present  on  the  other ;  whereby  it  can  become 
the  means  of  a  conscious  individual  immortality,  such 
as  is  referred  to  in  the  verse  of  the  Vayu  Pur  ana, 
which  tells  us  that  consciousness  extending  over  the 
whole  of  any  given  world-system  and  cycle,  lasting 
and  persisting  unbroken  from  the  birth  to  the  re- 
absorption  of  that  system  in  the  primal  cosmic 
elements — that  this  is  known  technically  as  immor- 
tality of  the  individual  consciousness.1 

This  potentiality  of  the  human  stage  of  evolution  is 
the  element  of  truth  in  the  otherwise  boastful  belief 
that  man  is  the  crown  of  creation,  whom  all  things 
else  therein  subserve.  Because  of  this  potentiality 
of  salvation  (m  o  k  s  h  a)  and  all  that  it  signifies,  even 
the  lower  nature-spirits  (d  e  v  a  s)  crave  instinctively 
for  birth  amongst  the  sons  of  Manu,  and  all  the 
denizens  of  all  the  lower  kingdoms  strive  incessantly 
in  their  sub-conscious  being  to  reach  his  high 
estate.  In  no  other  way  can  they  attain  to  that 
self -consciousness  whereby  and  wherein  alone  Eman- 
cipation from  the  bonds  of  matter  may  be  won, 
the  long  and  weary  exile  cease,  and  the  joyous 
homeward  return  begin  towards  that  Self  of  Bliss, 


4  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

whence  all  this  show  of  pain  and  toil  has  issued, 
in  order  that  the  glory  of  that  bliss  may  shine  the 
brighter  for  the  contrast. 

The  Science  of  this  ever-living  Self,  Self-conscious- 
ness, deep-seated  in  the  heart  of  every  living  being, 
is  that  Science  of  the  Self  (Adhyatma-Vidya)  of 
which  Krshna  said  : 

I  am  the  beginning,  the  middle  and  the  end 
of  all  manifestation  ;  of  all  the  ways  of  mutual 
converse  amongst  men,  I  am  that  guiding  clue, 
which  ever  seeks  and  evter  points  to  the  One 
Truth  ;  of  all  the  sciences,  I  am  the  Science  of 
the  Self.  ' 

The  other  sciences  and  arts  and  learnings  all  exist, 
and  also  feel  and  partly  know  the  objects  that  they 
deal  with.  But  they  do  not  know  themselves.  And, 
knowing  not  themselves,  they  do  not  know  the  rela- 
tionships existing  betwixt  themselves  of  each  one  to 
the  others,  and  betwixt  the  various  objects  that  they 
deal  with  respectively.  And,  thus,  they  do  not  know 
even  their  special  objects  wholly.  Because  all  sciences 
and  arts  and  crafts  exist  but  for  the  sake  of  the  Self, 
for  the  use  and  service  of  life,  therefore  the  Science 
of  the  Self  alone,  knowing  itself,  knows  also  all  the 
others  in  their  very  essence,  and  can  set  to  each  its 
due  proportion  to  the  rest,  and  so  make  all  harmoni- 


Bkagauad-Qtfd,  x.  3'2. 


THE    FOUNDATION    OP    MANIAS    CODE    OF    LIFE  5 

ous  and  fruitful.  It  is  now  being  recognised,  even 
quite  generally,  that  the  roots  of  all  the  most  con- 
cretely physical  sciences  are  lost  in  metaphysic,  and 
to  be  found  only  by  diligent  searching  there.  The 
force  of  the  physicist,  the  atom  of  the  chemist,  the 
vital  functioning  of  the  physiologist,  the  tendencies  to 
multiplication  and  spontaneous  variation  and  natural 
selection  of  the  evolutionist,  even  the  impossible  point 
and  line  of  the  mathematician,  are  all  meaningless 
until  translated  into  terms  of  the  Science  of  the  Self. 
Hence  is  this  Science  verily  the  King  of  Sciences,  to 
which  all  others  minister  and  owe  allegiance,  and  which 
protects  and  nourishes  all  others  lovingly,  justly  and 
righteously: 

It  is  the  royal  science,  the  royal  secret, 
sacred  surpassingly.  It  supplies  the  only  sanc- 
tion and  support  to  righteousness,  and  its  bene- 
fits thus  may  be  seen  even  with  the  eyes  of  flesh 
as  bringing  peace  and  permanence  of  happiness 
to  men.  l 

Because  it  is  the  King  of  Sciences,  therefore  it  is 
the  holy  Science  that  all  true  Kings  should  know,  and 
all  men  ruling  over  other  men  should  learn  assiduous- 
ly, if  they  would  govern  well  and  win  the  love  of  men 
and  gods  here  and  hereafter,  and  happiness  on  earth 
and  in  high  heaven.  Manu  says  : 


fihagavad  Gitd,  ix.  2- 


6  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Only  he  who  knows  the  science  of  the  true 
and  all-embracing  knowledge,  only  he  deserves 
to  be  the  leader  of  armies,  the  wielder  of  the  Rod 
of  Justice,  the  King  of  men,  the  Suzerain  and 
Overlord  of  Kings.1 

The  Manu  of  the  Human  Race  is  the  great  proto- 
type of  all  such  patriarchal  Kings.  Thinking 
( m  a  n  a  n  a  m),  looking  before  and  after,  joining  cause 
and  effect  deliberately  in  memory  and  expectation — 
the  pre-eminent  and  specific  character  of  man — is 
perfectly  embodied  in  the  Maiiu's  mind,  omniscient  of 
whole  past  ages  (k  alp  as),  world  cycles  of  activity 
and  sleep,  that  only  serve  as  ever-repeated,  ever-pass- 
ing illustrations  of  the  truths  and  principles  of  the 
Science  of  the  Self. 

Because  He  has  this  vast  experience,  extending 
breaklessly  over  whole  a?ons,  of  all  possible  situations 
in  all  possible  kinds  of  life,  in  lowest  and  in  highest 
kingdoms;  and  because  His  omniscience  of  infinite 
details  is  pervaded  by  the  principles  of  Self-know- 
ledge, therefore  is  He  fit  to  guide  new  hosts  of  selves 
(j  I  v  a  s),  in  new  cycles,  from  their  birth  in  the  atoms 
of  those  primal  substances  and  times,  ever  so  long  ago, 
of  which  at  present  we  can  call  up  but  the  faintest  me- 
mories or  conceptions,  up  to  their  remergence  in  the 
Common  Self,  at  the  nirvana  of  the  system;  therefore 
is  He  fit  to  make  laws  for  guiding_them  from  age 


II 

Matin,  xii.  100 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MAXU's    CODE    OF    LIFE  7 

to  age,   l^ws  varying  in  details  with  the  variations 

•"^^^^*^^^^^^~~-^^^T     i •• — i  mm,  II»^^^^^*T-"^^*^  ^ 

of  the  circumstances  of  life..  And  in  this  work  of 
guiding  human  evolution  and  making  laws  for  it, 
the  Manu  i.s  helped  by  Sages  (R  s  h  i  s),  who  also  have 
remained  over  with  Him  from  previous  ages 
(kalpas),  and  therefore  are  called  shishtas, 
literally  remains,  remnants  or  residua.  The  Matsya 
Purana  says  (chapter  J45)  : 

The  verb-root  s  h  i  s  h  means  to  remain 
behind,  to  be  distinguished  from  others  (and  the 
root  s  h  a  s  means  to  instruct  and  be  instructed), 
and  all  these  senses  are  included  in  the  word 
shishta.  The  knowers  and  doers  of  d  harm  a,  * 
well-instructed  and  distinguished  beyond  others, 
who  remained  behind  at  the  end  of  previous  ages 
(man  vantaras)"  and  now  stay  on  throughout 
this  world-cycle  in  order  to  maintain  unbroken 
the  chain  of  worlds  and  kingdoms  and  races,  and 
to  preserve  the  ancient  d  h  arm  a  from  falling  into 
decay  and  ruin,  by  constantly  instructing  the 
new  j  I  v  a  s  in  their  duties — these  are  the  Manu 
and  the  seven  R  s  h  i  s.  Out  of  His  memory  of 
the  past  age  our  Manu  declared  the  d  harm  as 
suited  for  the  present  cycle,  and  therefore  is  that 
d  harm  a  known  as  remembered  (Smrti  or 

i  A  well  nigh  untranslatable  word,  including  religion, 
rites,  piety,  specific  property,  function,  etc.,  but,  above  all, 
the  Duty  incumbent  on  a  man  at  the  stage  of  evolution 
he  has  reached  and  in  the  situation  he  may  be  in. 

a  '  Rounds '  in  Theosophical  parlance. 


8  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

Smart  a).  And  because  it  is  observed  and  prac- 
tised by  those  that  remained  behind,  and  will  be 
established  again  and  again  in  succeeding  cycles, 
after  the  expiration  of  this,  and  has  been  taught  by 
the  Elders  and  their  Elders  always  (with  the  need- 
ed modifications  from  time  to  time),  therefore  is 
it  known  as  S  h  i  s  h  t  a  e  h  a  r  a,  i.e.,  the  conduct, 
precept  and  example,  of  the  well-instructed  rem- 
nant of  high  teachers  worthy  of  all  reverence,  i 

The  Markandeya  Purana*  tells  the  story  of  the  next 
or  eighth  Manu,  Savarni  by  name,  who  began  His 
preparation  for  His  future  work  so  long  ago  as  the 
second  Round  (named  in  the  Puranas  as  the  Svarochisha 
Manvantara),  when  He  was  born  as  the  Kshattriya 
King  Suratha,  and  had  for  companion  in  his  austerity 
the  Vaishya  Samaclhi,  both  receiving  instruction  from 
the  Sage  Medhas. 

None  indeed  who  does  not  possess  this  comprehen- 
sive wisdom  is  fit  to  rule  in  the  fullest  sense  of  that 
high  word.  But,  even  on  a  smaller  scale,  he  who  does 
not  know  the  essentials,  the  broad  outlines  and  general 


t%sr  f  9 


In    the    Chapters  which   form  the  Dnrgd-sapta-shati. 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANO's    CODE    OF    LIFE  9 

principles  of  the  Science  of  the  Self,  Theosophy  proper; 
who  does  not  know  the  source,  the  means,  the  ends  of 
life  ;  has  not  studied  the  workings  of  the  mind,  nor 
learnt  how  to  create  good-will  in  his  own  heart  and  in 
the  hearts  of  others  round  him  ;  does  not  know,  in 
brief,  what  are  the  origin  and  what  the  purpose  and 
what  the  way  of  ruling  his  own  life  —  how  shall  he  fitly 
rule  the  lives  of  others,  be  it  in  a  household,  or  be  it  in 
a  kingdom  ?  How  can  he  be  of  real  and  undoubted 
help  and  service  to  his  fellow-men?  How  will  he  enable 
them  to  bring  together  means  and  end  ?  By  what  ways 
may  he  lead  them  on  to  the  great  goal  ?  —  not  knowing 
what  the  end  and  goal  is,  and  unaware  of  any  ways 
but  those  revealed  to  him  by  the  chance  of  the  physi- 
cal senses,  themselves  the  products  of  causes  to  him 
wholly  unknown. 

Of  the  rule  of  such,  in  the  smaller  household  of  the 
family  and  the  larger  household  of  the  nation,  was  the 
Upanishat  verse  spoken  by  the  Seer  in  sadness  and  in 
sorrow  : 

Sunk  in  the  very  depths  of  ignorance  and 
error,  wise  in  their  own  conceit,  great  in  their 
own  imagination,  they  go  on,  the  unhappy  ones, 
stumbling  at  every  step  upon  the  path,  blind 
leaders  of  the  blind.  ' 


Mundaka,  I.  ii.  8. 


10  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OK    THEOSOPHY 

And  such  verily  is  the  condition  of  mankind  at 
large  to-day.  Sovereign  and  subject,  statesman  and 
private  man,  scientist  and  priest,  aristocrat  and 
bureaucrat  and  democrat,  capitalist  and  laborer, 
rich  and  poor,  conservative  and  liberal,  loyalist,  social- 
ist and  anarchist — all  having,  as  a  rule,  no  knowledge 
and  no  thought  of  the  '  why '  of  life  and  but  a 
very  partial  one  of  the  '  how '  •  busying  them- 
selves more  or  less  frenziedly  with  the  immediate 
gain  to  the  senses;  thinking  only  of  staving  off 
the  trouble  of  the  moment ;  condemning,  as  beyond 
the  pale  of  practical  politics,  all  attempts  to  formu- 
late and  teach  and  reach  ideals  in  the  administration 
of  affairs,  even  when  acknowledging,  in  argument, 
that  conduct  is  instinctively  governed  by  the  ideal, 
the  practice  by  the  theory — how  shall  such  guide 
the  human  race  to  happiness  ? 

The  Manu  and  His  assistants  and  subordinates  are 
not  so  near-sighted.  They  look  very  far,  before  and 
after.  Their  practical  politics  are  always  dominated 
and  governed  by  high  ideals,  by  a  complete  theory  of 
life,  its  origin,  its  end,  its  purpose.  To  their  view, 
all  activity  not  organically  and  consistently  related  to 
the  well-ascertained  and  clearly-defined  objects  of  life 
is  not  practical  but  supremely  unpractical. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  understand  and  appreciate,  at 
their  true  value,  the  rules  that  they  have  laid  down  for 
the  guiding  of  human  affairs,  it  is  indispensable  that 
the  view  of  the  World-process,  on  which  the  rules  are 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANC's    CODE    OF    LIFE  11 

based,  should  be  clearly  understood.  Whether  we 
agree  in  it  and  accept  it,  or  not,  is  another  matter. 
But  to  understand  the  practice  we  must  understand  the 
theory,  we  must  put  ourselves  at  the  point  of  view 
of  those  who  framed  and  followed  the  practice. 

Many  modern  students,  especially  of  the  West,  say 
that  the  ancient  East  is  unintelligible  to  them;  that  they 
cannot  understand  the  Hindu's  introduction  of  what 
they  call  'religion  '  into  the  most  commonplace  affairs 
of  life ;  his  constant  reference  to  heaven  and  to  liber- 
ation, even  in  the  text-books  of  grammar  and  mathe- 
matics. They  fail  to  understand  Hindu  life,  because 
they  look  only  at  the  surface ;  and  because,  they,  in 
their  own  life,  occupy  a  standpoint  and  follow  an 
ideal  very  different  from  that  of  those  who  profess  to 
be  guided  by  the  Institutes  of  the  Manu.  It  is  a 
common  statement  in  the  ancient  books,  that  the  child 
cannot  understand  and  sympathise  with  the  romances 
and  the  sentiments,  the  elations  and  the  depressions,, 
of  the  young  man.  No  more  can  the  young  man,  with 
his  restless  ambitions  and  outrushing  energies  and 
ever-renewed  hopes  and  enthusiasms,  understand  the 
graver  demeanor,  and  the  sobering  cares  and 
anxieties  of  the  middle-aged,  who  have  to  bear  the 
burdens  of  the  family  and  the  manifold  pressure  of 
the  social  organisation  in  which  they  live.  No  more, 
again,  can  the  middle-aged,  engaged  in  the  strenuous 
.struggles  of  life,  wholly  understand  the  peace  and 
quietness  of  the  aged,  and  their  retirement  from  the 


12  MANF    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

competitive  struggle.  But  the  older  can  generally 
understand  the  younger,  by  means  of  memory.  Now, 
-as  the  difference  is  between  two  individuals  at  two 
different  stages  of  life,  such  is  the  difference  between 
two  peoples  and  two  forms  of  civilisation,  occupying 
different  stages  of  evolution.  An  older  race,  even 
though  feebler,  can  generally  understand  the  younger 
and  more  vigorous,  though  the  latter  does  not  under- 
stand the  former.  There  are  few  complaints  that  the 
East  cannot  understand  the  West ;  many  that  the 
West  cannot  understand  the  East.  There  is  110  diffi- 
culty forthe  oldmanin  understanding  that  the  younger 
one  should  be  energetic,  pushful,  eager  to  make  his 
way  in  the  world  and  secure  its  good  things  for  his 
own  use.  He  has  himself  passed  through  that  ex- 
perience, and  retains  the  memory  of  it,  unless  indeed 
he  has  become  too  far  removed  in  age.  But  it  is  diffi- 
cult for  the  young  man,  every  fibre  of  whose  organism 
is  impelling  him  towards  pursuit  of  the  outer  world's 
experiences,  to  understand  what  quiet  reflexion  over 
these  or  voluntary  abandonment  of  them  can  be,  and 
how  it  is  possible. 

He  who  has  not  passed  through  the  physical  crisis 
of  dispassion  (v  a  i  r  a  g  y  a)  can  never  understand  and 
sympathise  with  the  mood  and  conduct  of  one  who 
has.  This  is  the  essential  difference  between  the 
psychology  of  the  East  and  of  the  West,  modern  and 
ancient,  young  and  old.1 

1  P  u  r  v  a   and    Pashchima;  purva   means  both 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANUs    CODE    OF    LIFE 

Manu's  scheme  of  life  contains  provision  for  both 
the  younger  and  the  older ;  those  who  have  passed 
through  dispassion  and  been  born  a  second  time  there- 
by, and  those  who  have  not.1  Modern  schemes  make 
provision  only  for  one,  and  failing,  therefore,  to  meet 
all  requirements,  need  continual  revision.  The  whole 
course  of  nature  ordains  that  the  older,  who  know 
more,  shall  make  provision  for  the  bringing  up  of  the 
younger,  who  know  less.  Where,  for  any  special 
cause,  this  ordinance  of  nature  is  violated,  catastrophe 
must  result  before  very  long.  And  there  is  much 
reason  to  fear  that  modern  systems  of  administering 
human  society  will  pi-ove  a  commentary  on  and  a  justi- 
fication of  Manu's  ideas — but  by  contrast.  They  are 
the  product  of  minds  which  are  confined  as  yet  to  the 
Path  of  Pursuit  (the  P  r  a  v  r  1 1  i-m  a  r  g  a),  and  know 
little  or  nothing  of,  and  care  less  for,  the  other  half  of 
life,  the  Path  of  Renunciation  (the  N  i  v  r  1 1  i-m  a  r  g  a)  ; 
without  knowledge  of  which,  the  fundamental  facts 
of  the  universe,  the  foundations  of  all  existence,  re- 
main unknown.  As  the  Bhagavad-frtfa  says  (xvi.  7)  : 

The  men  who  are  still  on  the  Path  of  Pur- 
suit, pursuit  of  the  pleasures  of  the  senses,  they 
know  not  the  difference  between  that  Path  and 

east  and  earlier  or  older,  and  pashchima,  west  and 
later  or  younger.  The  geiiei-al  plan  of  history  seems  for 
civilisation  to  travel  from  the  East  towards  the  West, 
round  and  round,  with  the  sun. 

1  See  on   this    Prof.  James'  interesting  chapter  on  the 
"  twice-born,"  in  his  Vari<-ti<'*  <>f  H 


14  MAXU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

the  Path  of  Renunciation,  renunciation  of  the 
tilings  of  physical  sense  and  striving  after  the 
super-physical  and  spiritual  life.  And  because 
they  know  not  these  two  in  their  con  tradisti  notion, 
the  two  which  make  up  the  whole  of  life,  there- 
fore the  whole  of  the  Truth  abides  not  with  them, 
nor  real  inner  purity  from  selfish  desire,  nor  the 
conduct  of  reason-governed  self-sacrifice.1 

Such  is  H!!  the  supposed,  and  much  spoken  of,  and 
much  exaggerated,  difference  between  ancient  and 
modern,  East  and  West.  There  is  indeed  no  other 
deeper-seated,  inherent,  insuperable  and  ineradicable 
difference.  They  are  both  Spirit  of  the  same  Spirit 
and  flesh  of  the  same  flesh  —  all  most  truly  Mann's 
children.  The  ancient  has  been  modern  in  its  day. 
The  modern  will  be  ancient  in  its  time.  Indeed,  it,  in 
the  sense  of  the  fifth  sub-race,  is  fast  aging  now,  ma- 
turing psychically  and  passing  through  experience  at 
a  more  rapid  rate  than  the  ancient,  in  the  sense  of  the 
Indian  first  sub-race,  seems  to  have  done.  And  all 
attempts  at  interpretation  of  the  ancient  to  the  mo- 
dern, in  the  passing  on  to  the  younger  and  more  power- 
ful generation  of  whatever  special  knowledge  the  older 
and  now  feebler  generation  may  have  gathered,  in 
order  that  the  younger  may  mount  to  a  higher  height 
of  experience  —  all  such  attempts  are  but  parts  of  the 


3RT 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANu's    CODE    OF    LIFE  15 

natural  ways  and  means  of  the  younger' s  maturation. 
It  should  be  remembered  that,  strictly  speaking, 
what  we  call  the  ancient  should  be  called  only  the 
remnants  of  the  ancient,  for  the  bulk  of  it,  so  far  as 
the  actual  living  population  is  concerned,  is  in  reality 
very  modern  and  young.  For  it  is  made  up  of 
younger  souls,  and  is  roughly  classed  with  the  ancient 
only  because  upgrown  on  the  soil  of  the  ancient, 
where  the  'forms'  of  the  older  type  of  civilisation  still 
persist ;  where  also  are  older  souls,  here  and  there,  to 
keep  the  old  ideals  alive  till  the  truly  modern  of  both 
East  and  West  shall  take  them  up,  to  carry  them  to 
a  fuller  realisation  in  the  future.  So,  on  the  other 
hand,  many  older  and  more  advanced  souls  are  being 
born  now  in  the  bodies  of  the  newer  race,  to  provide 
the  necessary  leaven  of  the  older  knowledge  for  them 
and  direct  their  attention  towards  superphysical 
sciences.  As  cells  and  tissues,  embodying  germs  of 
nascent  faculties  are  in  the  individual,  so  are  indivi- 
duals and  families,  embodying  special  knowledge  and 
ideals,  in  the  body  of  the  nation.  The  bringing  to- 
gether of  eastern  and  western  nations  in  bonds  of 
political,  economical  and  educational  interdepend- 
ence is  an  act  of  Providence  also  tending  towards  the 
same  end.  If  we  seek  for  a  reason  why  younger  and  less 
advanced  souls  (jivas)  should  be  born  into  the  weak- 
ening physical  moulds  left  by  the  more  advanced,  we 
may  find  that  this  is  only  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
of  economy  of  force,  which  run  through  and  counter- 


16  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

balance  the  lavish  extravagance  in  details  of  ever- 
paradoxical  nature,  the  Everlasting  Duality  (Dvan- 
dvam).  Aging  grand-father  and  budding  infant  fit 
in  with  each  other  appropriately ;  the  knee  of  the 
former  is  the  natural  play-ground  of  the  latter;  his 
perfected  wisdom  (s  a  1 1  v  a)  of  soul  and  decaying 
activity  (r  a  j  a  s)  and  growing  inertia  (t  a  m  a  s)  of 
body  help  on  to  their  natural  development  the  im- 
perfect wisdom  of  the  soul  and  growing  activity  and 
lessening  inertia  of  the  body  of  the  child. 

What  then  is  this  Theoiy  of  Life  which  is  the  found- 
ation of  Manu's  Laws,  one  portion  of  which,  suited  for 
one  epoch,  has  come  down  to  us,  with  modifications 
made,  from  time  to  time,  by  various  Sages  and  minor 
Manus,  in  order  to  suit  the  needs  of  sub-cycles  within 
the  larger  epoch  ?  With  regard  to  these  modifications 
and  explanations,  we  have  to  remember  that  in  trying 
to  present  to  our  minds  the  outlines  of  Manu's  views 
intelligibly,  it  is  not  possible  to  confine  ourselves  to  the 
words  of  the  work  known  as  the  Manu-Samhita  or 
Manu-Smrti.  In  order  to  understand  that  work, 
cognate  literature  in  the  shape  of  the  '  histories  of 
world-evolution'  (Itihasas  and  Puranas),  and  especially 
those  parts  of  them  which  describe  past  Indian  life  as 
governed  by  the  laws  of  Manu,  is  indispensable. 
Mamt-Samhita  is  said  to  be  the  quintessence  of  the 
Vedas ;  the  study  of  it  is  compulsory  on  the  twice- 
born  on  pain  of  losing  status ;  and  like  the  Vedas,  it 
should  be  interpreted  with  the  help  of  the  'histories' 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANU's    CODE    OF    LIFE  17 

Whatever  hath  been  declared  by   Manu  to  be 

the  duty  ot  any  one,  that  is  declared  in  entirety 

and  detail,    in  the  Veda  ;  for  Manu  kiioweth  all. 

And  the  Veda  should  be  expanded  and  expound- 

ed  with   the  help  of  the  Puranas  and  the  I^iha- 

sas.     For  indeed   the  Veda  feareth    him  whose 

knowledge  is  not  veiy    wide,  who  has  not  heard 

much  :    "  Such  a  one  will  defraud  me  of  my  true 

value  and  significance,"   so  thinketh  the  Veda  of 

the  narrow-minded  and  the  ill-instructed.1 

This  method,  it  is  true,   does  not  recommend  itself 

to   the    modern    oriental  scholar.    He    expresses    his 

opinion  of  it  in  the  single  word  'uncritical'.   To  him  the 

date  of  the  work  ;   the  exact  and  particular  name  of 

the  author  ;  the  details  of  his  biography  ;  the  various 

readings  of  a  particular  piece  of  text  although  the  sense 

of  all  be  the  same  ;   and  such  other  matters  are  of  ex- 

ceeding importance.  And  from  a  certain  standpoint  he 

is  perfectly  right.      Where  the  subject-matter  of  the 

work    is,     not    general    laws    and     principles     and 

also  facts    more    or   less   certain,    but  the    changing 

and   passing   products  of    such    laws  and  principles, 

there    the   personality    of   the  author  and  the  condi- 

tions under    which    his    work    was    written    become 

useful  objects   of  study,   as  also  helping  to  illustrate 

the  same  general  laws  and  principles,  or  at  least  as 


.  ii.  7. 


18  ilANIT    IN    THK    LIGHT    Of    THKOSOl'HY 

affording  interesting  pastime.  But  otherwise,  they 
are  not  useful  to  study.  Even  in  modern  days,  people 
do  not  spend  very  much  time  and  energy  on  finding 
out  particulars  about  the  discoverers  of  geometry  or 
arithmetic  or  algebra,  or  about  the  editors  of  success- 
ive text-books  of  these.  The  discoverers  of  real 
indubitable  truths  are  generally  only  re-discoverers. 
Therefore  no  particular  interest  attaches  to  their 
personalities,  except  as  part  of  general  history.  The 
inventors  of  passing  things  are  far  more  'interesting,1 
naturally,  and  great  discussions  arise  as  to  how  much 
f  credit'  should  or  should  not  be  given  to  them.  Truth 
is  common  property  and  cannot  be  copyrighted. 
Individual  peculiarities — not  to  call  them  aberrations 
— are  special  property,  and  therefore  fit  for  copyright- 
ing. The  Scriptures  of  all  the  nations  are  nameless. 
Such  other  works  as,  by  their  surpassing  excellence, 
approach  the  Scriptures  in  helpful  instructiveness, 
are  nearly  nameless,  too — the  great  epics  of  many 
nations,  for  instance.  By  their  perfect  descriptions 
of  human  nature,  true  in  all  times,  they  have  risen 
above  the  level  of  passing  lists  of  passing  facts,  and 
have  become  text-books  of  the  science  of  psychology, 
sociology  and  history  in  one. 

Manu,  in  reference  to  the  Samhitd  known  by  the 
name,  is  thus  but  a  representative  name,  representa- 
tive of  the  Great  Being  who  is  the  real,  primal  Pro- 
genitor and  Chief  of  the  human  race  ana  also  of  minor 
Manus  and  Rshis  and  the  subordinate  hierarchs  who 


THK    FOrXDATIOX    OF    MAXU'.S    CODK    OF    LIFE  19 

help  in   the  work  of  carrying  out  His  scheme,  and 
who  put  forth  the  minor  laws  which  are   all  already 
contained  potentially  in  the  great  law.     And  there- 
fore the  free  use  of  the  Itilmsas  and  Puranas  and  other 
traditions    is    helpful    in    understanding  the  general 
scheme.     This   is  so,  to  the  older  temperament  of  the 
mind  which  sees  not  separateness  (abheda-buddhi) ; 
which  tends  physically  as  well  as  mentally  to  long- 
sightedness and  sufferance  and  compromise;    which 
iikes  better  to  attend  to  the  common  elements  in  the 
various   views   of   truth  ;   which  is  inclined  to  look  at 
thoughts  behind  and  through  the  words,  even  at  the 
risk  of  being  somewhat  slovenly  in  the  use  of  language ; 
which  believes  that  the  World-process  manifests  from 
within  without,  and  that  forms  develop  out  of  the  life 
and  not  in  the  reverse  way ;  which  looks  at  history  as 
the  result  of  philosophy,   as   the   working  out  of  an 
ideal  plan,   and  not  at  philosophy  as  the  bye-product 
of   basketfuls   of  casual  events  called  history;    which 
believes  that  ideas  and  ideals,  discoveries  of  science  and 
unfoldings  of  knowledge,  are  all  themselves  the  result 
of  a  great  world-plan  of  human  evolution,  and  make 
epochs  and  not  the  reverse.  To  the  other,  the  younger 
temperament,   of  the    mind   which  sees   separateness 
(bheda-buddhi),  with  eyes  keen  for  the  sharp  edges 
of  all  outlines,  and  impatient  of  all  compromise  ;  which 
delights  to  emphasise  differences ;  which  revels  in  draw- 
ing distinctions  ;  dwells  lovingly  and  lingeringly  on  the 
apparent   inconsistencies  of  others;    thinks  that  life 


20  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

develops  out  of  form  and  functions  out  of  organs,  instead 
of  the  opposite ;  which  declares  that  history  is  made  by 
chance  trifles,  by  the  accidental  speakings,  doings, 
intriguings  of  men  and  women  often  hidden  in  the  back- 
ground; which  is  not  willing  to  see  that  such  speakings 
and  doings  are  themselves  the  results  of  wide-reaching 
causes  and  can  occur  and  be  of  effect  only  in  the 
setting  of  the  general  plan  ;  which  attaches  more  im- 
portance to  minute  details  than  to  general  principles, 
and  to  physical  facts  than  to  psychical — to  such  a 
temperament,  this  method  of  'uncritical'  study  does  not 
recommend  itself.  Perfection  lies,  of  course,  in  the 
combination  of  both  principles  and  details,  of  the 
two  extremes  in  the  golden  mean.  But  such  per- 
fectly balanced  combination  is  seldom  found;  per- 
haps is  precluded  by  the  very  condition  of  all  mani- 
festation, viz.,  inequilibrium,  the  successive  exaggera- 
tion of  each  part  over  the  others,  that  in  their  totality 
make  up  the  whole. 

Hence  the  one  view  predominates  at  one  time  and 
place,  and  the  other  at  another.  To  the  tempera- 
ment of  the  first,  or  Indian,  sub-race,  the  view  which 
looks  more  to  principles  than  to  details  has,  on  the 
\vliole,  been  more  attractive.  And  therefore  the  dif- 
ferent Puranas  and  Smrtis  are  accepted  without 
much  critical  enquiry,  somewhat  in  the  same  fashion 
as  successive  editions  of  a  work  on  mathematics  nuiy 
be,  to-day,  in  the  West ;  and  whatever  additions  and 
alterations  appear  from  time  to  time,  in  work  after 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANIAS    CODE    OF    LIFE  21 

work,  are  taken  as  but  developments  of  potentialities 
already  contained  in  the  fundamental  rules  and  out- 
lines.1 

It  is  extraordinary  how  the  successive  generations 
of  the  Indian  people  have,  by  a  sort  of  hereditary 
instinct,  implanted  by  the  guiding  Hierarchy  in  them 
for  the  special  purpose  of  preserving  the  old  tradition 
for  the  later  use  of  all  mankind,  clung  on  to  their 
reverence  for  these  Vedas  and  Puranas,  despite  the 
most  adverse  circumstances.  No  longer  able  to  under- 
stand them  in  the  later  days  of  degeneration ;  unable 
to  defend  them  from  attacks  levelled  against  the 
surface-meaning  of  many  parts  ;  often  most  cruelly 
and  heartlessly  deceived  and  sacrificed  to  self-interest, 
with  false  and  too  literal  interpretations,  by  vicious 
custodians ;  through  internal  dissensions  and  foreign 
invasions,  when  there  was  much  worldly  good  to  gain 
and  almost  nothing  to  lose  by  giving  them  up ;  they 
have  yet  clung  on  to  their  belief  in  the  preciousnees 
of  these  Scriptures.  And  it  seems  as  if  the  purpose 
of  Providence  were  now  likely  to  be  fulfilled  and  the 
preservative  labor  of  the  Indian  instinct  rewarded. 
For  the  lost  commentaries,  which  would  have  made 

'.Almost  everyone  of  the  Purauas  Jbegins  with  the  state- 
ment that  it  was  deliverd  by  Suta  to  the  Rshis  for  the 
good  of  the  people,  at  one  of  the  twelve-yearly  meetings 
of  the  Rshis,  out  of  which  perhaps,  the  modem  Kumbha- 
fair  has  grown.  The  twelve-year  period  makes  a  minor 
cycle  (yuga)  in  Hindu  astronomy,  and  is,  roughly,  the 
time  taken  by  one  complete  circulation  of  the  solar  vital 
fluid. 


MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF   THEOSOPHY 

the  unintelligible  clear,  made  the  absurd-seeming 
appear  rational,  and  the  impossible  allegorically 
significant — these  commentaries  are  now  in  course 
of  restoration,  though  somewhat  indirectly,  by 
modern  science  itself,  which  not  many  years  ago  was 
the  most  energetic  of  iconoclasts,  but  is  now  beginning 
to  turn  its  attention  to  superphysics  and  metaphysics. 
Manu's  Theory  of  Life,  as  it  may  be  gathered  from  the 
!  inws  which  bear^JAis  name,  and  from  thesePuranas, 
summed  up  in  a  score  or  so  of  words.  Two 
have  been  already  mpjitioned  incidentally, 
—•ma  Pursuit  (Pravrtti)  aridjfetirement  (Xi v  r  1 1  i) . 
And  these  are,  in  a  sense,  the  most  important.  The 
others  depend  on  these.  The  variants  of  this  pair 
are  many ;  the  underlying  idea  in  all  is  the  same. 
The  Smrtis,  the  Ehagarad-Gltd,  the  Puranas,  speak 
of  pursuit  and  retirement  (p  r  a  v  r  1 1  i  and  n  i  v  r  1 1  i) ; 
or  selfishness  and  unselfishness  (s  a  k  a  m  y  a  and 
naishkamya);or  attachment  and  detachment  (sakti 
and  a  s  a  k  t  i).  The  Philosophic  Schools  (Darshanas) 
speak  of  them  also.  The  Xyaya  and  Yaisheshika  Schools 
as  emanation  andreabsorption  (sargaandapavarga), 
or  pain  and  highest  bliss  (duhkha  and  nis-shreyas). 
The  Mimrimsa  School  as  the  action  that  binds 
and  the  opposite  of  such  (karma  and  naish- 
k  army  a).  The  Siinkhya  and  Yoga  Schools  as 
striving  and  letting  go  (I  ha  and  u  pa  ram  a),  or  uprising 
and  restraint  (vyutt liana  and  nirodha).  The 
names  of  the  Vedanta  School  are  the  most  familiar, 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANU  S    CODE    OF    LIFE  2d 

bondage  and  liberation  (band ha  and  moksha).  The 
Jainas  speak  of  moving  forth  and  moving  back,  action 
and  reaction  (s  a  n  c  h  S  r  a  and  p  r  a  t  i  s  a  n  c  h  a  r  a) .  The 
Buddhists  or  Bauddhas,  of  the  thirst  for  the  individual- 
ised separate  life  and  the  extinction  of  that  thirst 
(t  r  s  h  n  a  and  nirvana).  The  Christians,  of  sin  and 
salvation.  And  finally,  modern  science  accepts  the  same 
idea  and  calls  it  evolution  and  involution,  integration 
and  disintegration,  formation  and  dissolution  of  worlds 
and  world-systems.  Each  phrase,  old  or  new,  express- 
es a  more  or  less  different  aspect  of  one  and  the  same 
fact ;  each  corresponds  with  a  different  standpoint  of 
observation.  Thus,  current  science  has  looked  at  the  ex- 
ternal, objective  or  material  aspect  of  things  predomi- 
nantly and  so  spoken  of  the  integration  and  dissolution 
of  forms.  The  philosophic  systems  have  looked  more  at 
the  internal,  subjective  or  spiritual  side,  and  have  there- 
fore used  terms  indicative  of  the  moods  of  the  inner 
force  guiding  that  integration  and  disintegration  of 
material  particles.  And  amongst  the  latter,  again,  those 
which  dealt  more  prominently  with  the  active  element 
in  the  inspiring  consciousness,  e,g.,  the  Mimamsa, 
have  employed  words  significant  of  action  and  re- 
action ;  while  those  which  looked  more  to  the  motive, 
have  used  terms  of  desire. 

The  common  fact,  running  through  all  these  pairs 
of  names,  is  the  fact  of  the  rhythmic  swing  of  the 
World-process.  And  on  and  around  this  fact,  the 
Great  Law-Giver  and  His  followers  have  built  their 


24  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OK    THEOSOPHY 

whole  Code  of  Life,  life  in  the  physical  as  well  as  the 
superphysical  worlds. 

If  we  seek  deeper  for  the  cause  of  this  pulsing,  we 
must  come  to  the  penultimate  pair  of  facts,  Self  and 
Not-Self,  variously  called  A  t  m  a  and  A  n  a  t  m  a, 
PurushaandPrakrti,  Subject  and  Object,  Spirit  and 
Matter.  These  are  recognisedin  some  shape,  under  some 
name,  in  all  systems  of  thought.  Whatever  their  exact 
nature  may  be,  they  are  recognised  as  facts.  And 
when  they  have  been  named,  and  the  Interplay 
between  them  mentioned,  the  wrhole  content  of  thought 
and  of  the  universe  has  been  completely  exhausted. 
Nothing  more  remains  outside  of  these.  It  is  just 
this  Interplay  between  the  Two  which  appears  as  the 
rhythmic  swing  spoken  of  under  many  names.  The 
putting  on  by  the  Spirit  of  a  body  of  matter,  small 
as  microbes  or  vast  as  suns ;  subtle  as  the  most 
inconceivably  tenuous  ethers,  or  gross  and  hard  as 
rocks  and  minerals ;  this  is  the  coming  outwards  of 
the  Spirit  (p  r  a  v  r  1 1  i).  The  putting  oif  of  that  body 
is  its  return  within  itself  (n  i  v  r  1 1  i).  This  process  is 
taking  place  endlessly,  everywhere  and  always,  on 
all  possible  scales  of  time  and  space  and  motion,  in 
every  possible  degree  of  simplicity  and  complexity. 
And  each  complete  life,  small  or  great,  with  its  two 
halves  of  birth  into  and  growth  in  matter,  and  decay 
and  death  out  of  it,  may  be  regarded  as  a  complete 
cycle.  It  is  true  that,  as  nothing  in  the  endless  World- 
process  is  really  and  wholly  disconnected  with  any- 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANu's    CODE    OF    LIFE  25 

thing  and  everything  else,  so  no  such  life-cycle  is 
wholly,  truly  and  finally  complete  and  independent. 
And  it  is  therefore  true  that  all  life-cycles,  i.e.  all  lives, 
small  and  great,  are  graded  on  to  one  another  and 
form  parts  within  parts,  smaller  wheels  within  larger 
wheels,  epicycles  within  cycles,  all  in  an  endless  and 
ever  incomplete  chain.  But,  at  the  same  time  there 
is  an  appearance  of  completed  cycles.  And  one-half 
of  each  such  cycle  is,  comparatively,  the  arc  of  the 
descent  of  Spirit  into  Matter,  and  the  other  half  is 
the  arc  of  its  re-ascent  out  of  that  Matter.  And, 
according  as  we  please,  we  may  call  the  one  half,  evo- 
lution, and  the  other,  involution ;  or,  we  might  reverse 
the  names.  Usage  is  not  quite  settled  on  this  point. 
We  may  speak  of  Spirit  becoming  involved  in  Matter, 
in  sheaths,  bodies,  or  receivers  (up  ad  his),  and  then 
becoming  evolved  out  of  it.  Or,  we  may  speak  of 
Matter,,  i.e.,  material  sheathing,  being  evolved  out  of 
the  Spirit  and  then  becoming  involved  or  merged 
back  into  it  again.  The  naming  is  a  question  of 
convenience  for  the  purpose  in  hand.  The  general 
idea  seems  to  be  fairly  unmistakeable.  It  should  be 
observed  however  that  the  notion  of  growth  and  im- 
provement and  refinement,  progress  of  all  kinds  in 
short,  has  become  associated  with  the  word  Evolution 
The  reason  is  that  the  scientists  who  have  rediscovered 
for  the  world  one  portion  of  the  great  law,  have, 
naturally,  observed  only  the  outer  forms.  And,  in 
the  course  of  their  researches,  they  have  found  that 


26  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

as  the  former  grew  finer  and  more  completely  differen- 
tiated and  delicately  organised,  the  richer  in  variety 
of  experience  grew  the  manifestation  of  life  in  it. 
And  because  the  existing  ways  of  human  life,  accom- 
panying the  present  complex  organisation  of  the  hu- 
man body,  appeaimed  to  them  the  best  of  all  that  they 
could  observe,  therefore  they  have  identified  evolution 
of  complexity  of  form  with  progress  and  superiority  of 
all  kinds  in  life  generally.  If  there  should  come  a 
time  when  it  was  found  that  what  was  then  regarded 
as  a  more  glorious  manifestation  of  life  was  compatible 
with  a  greater  simplicity  and  homogeneity  of  form  and 
material — as  is  suggested  by  passages  here  and  there 
in  the  old  books — then  this  notion  would  have  to  be 
somewhat  revised  and  modified.  In  the  meanwhile 
refinement  in  life  being  regarded  as  the  invariable 
concomitant  of  progress  in  complexity  of  form,  the 
progress  of  both  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  evolution ; 
and  the  word  involution  does  not  appear  often  in 
scientific  literature,  yet,  in  contrast  with  evolution  ; 
and  this  for  the  reason  mentioned  before,  namely, 
that  the  modern  phase  of  civilisation  does  not  de- 
finitely recognise  retirement  and  the  stages  that 
have  to  be  passed  through  by  the  soul  on  the  Path 
of  Renunciation. 

This  current  notion  of  evolution  is  not  unrecognised 
in  Samskrt  writings.  The  text  of  the  Aitareya, 
Aranyaka  has  been  already  referred  to,  which  says 
that  the  Self  manifests  least  in  minerals,  more  in 


THE    FOUNUATIOX    OF    MAM/'s    CODE    OF    LIFE  27 

vegetables,  more  in  animals,  more  in  men,  and  so  on. 
And  some  verses  occur  in  the  Brhad-Vishnu-Purana* 
which  give  a  few  more  details  : 

(Out  of  the  eight  millions  and  four  hundred 
thousand  types  or  forms  through  which  the  soul 
has  to  pass)  two  millions  belong  to  the  immova- 
ble, or  minerals  and  vegetables  ;  nine  hundred 
thousand  to  aquatic  varieties  of  animals  ;  as 
many  to  the  reptilia  or  turtles  and  the  worms 
and  insects  ;  one  million  to  birds  ;  three  millions 
to  quadrupeds  ;  and  four  hundred  thousand  to 
the  anthropoid  apes.  After  passing  through 
these  the  soul  arrives  at  the  human  form  (which 
takes  up  the  remainder  of  the  total  number,  or 
two  hundred  thousand).  In  the  human  stage, 
the  soul  perfects  itself  by  deeds  of  merit,  gra- 
dually develops  thereby  the  inward  consciousness 
which  marks  the  twice-born,  and  finally  attains 
the  birth  wherein  realisation  of  Brahman 
becomes  possible.2 


1  Quoted  in  the  Sltabda-kabpa^rwfM  under  ^ff^J.  The- 
classification  in  these  verses  is  from  the  standpoint  of  ex- 
ternal form  and  habitat.  From  the  deeper  standpoint  of 
method  of  reproduction,  the  classification  is  fourfold, 
jtfcsai,  H$H,  3TT5T.  fT?3C.  From  the  still  deeper  one,  of 
vital  currents  and  psychic  tendencies  and  g  u  n  a  s,  it  is 
threefold:  3M%TlH*i,r  fi^'ijWd^,  ^nrsjwiritt.  And  so  on. 
But  the  idea  of  successive  evolution  runs  through  all. 


28  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF   THBOSOPHY 

But  what  is  recognised  in  the  Puranas  in  addition 
to  this  evolution  of  material  form,  and  is  not  yet 
recognised  in  modern  science,  is  that,  side  by  side 
with  this,  there  is  an  involution  of  the  Spirit  in  these 
forms ;  and,  further,  that  when  a  certain  limit  has 
been  reached,  the  process  is  reversed  and  the  form 
tends  to  become  ever  simpler  and  simpler  again, 
without  the  gathered  experience  being  lost,  till,  at  the 
-end  of  the  appointed  cycle,  the  individual  merges 
into  the  Universal. 

These  two  halves  of  evolution  and  involution,  then, 
constitute  the  rhythmic  pulse,  the  very  heart-beat 
of  all  life.  And  in  accordance  with  the  law  there- 
of, our  selves,  or  souls,  having  successively  identified 
themselves  with  and  separated  themselves  from  mi- 
neral, vegetable  and  animal  forms  in  the  course  of 
long  ages,  have  now  arrived  at  the  human  stage,  and 
become  capable  of  retrospect  and  prospect.  For  it 
would  seem  that  in  our  particular  cycle  and  system, 
in  the  terrene  chain,  the  man  of  this  globe,  the  earth, 
stands  at  the  turning-point,  the  junction  between 
the  two  paths.  And  only  he  who  stands  at  such 
midway-point  is  capable  of  looking  both  before  and 
:after  fully.  He  only  can  take  himself  in  hand,  grasp 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANU's    CODE    OF    LIFE  20 

his  whole  personality,  and  ask  and  answer  what  he 
should  do  with  it  and  why  and  how  he  should  do  it. 

What  then  should  he  place  before  himself  as  the 
aim  of  life,  and  how  should  he  conduct  himself,  so 
as  to  secure  it  in  the  fullest  degree  ?  Taking  the  two 
halves  together,  Self-realisation  or  God-realisation, 
whichever  we  please  to  call  it,  becomes  the  tsummum 
bonnm,  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the  motive  and  the 
goal,  of  all  this  World-process.  But  taking  them  sepa- 
rately, it  is  obvious  that  the  object  of  each  half  should 
be  different  from  that  of  the  other. 

According  to  Manu,  the  object  of  the  Pursuit-half 
of  life  is  threefold:  Duty,  Profit,  Pleasure  (D  harm  a, 
Artlia,  Kama). 

Some  say  that  the  performance  of  duty  and 
the  gathering  of  riches  are  '  the  gtxxl  '  ;  some  say 
wealth  and  sense-enjoyments  ;  some  duty  only  ; 
some  riches  only.  But  the  well-established 
truth  is  that  the  three  together  make  the  end  of 
the  life  of  Pursuit.1 

It  might  indeed  be  said  that  sense-pleasure  alone,. 
(Kama)  is  the  aummum  bonum  for  the  arc  of  descent. 
The  word  means  the  enjoyments  of  the  senses  and 
the  wish  for  those  enjoyments.  These  accompany 
the  ever-deeper  merging  of  the  Spirit  in  the  sheaths  of 
matter,  its  ever-nearer  identification  with  the  clothes 
of  flesh.  Why  then  does  the  Manu  hede  it  in  with  two 


II  Man  H  ,  ii.  224, 


•30  MANU    IX    THE    LI'iHT    <>!•'    THKOSOPHY 

others  which  are  not  at  all  so  obviously  connected  with 
the  Path  of  Pursuit  ?  Indeed  he  lays  far  more  stress  on 
D  liar  in  a.   than  on  the  two  others.     Xay,  more,  he 
•deprecates  from  time  to  time  the  yearning  after  sense- 
pleasures.       Why    does   he   do   so  ?    Because   of  this, 
apparently:    Pleasure    needs   no   recommendation   to 
the  human   being  at  the  stage  to  which  the  current 
portion  of  His  laws  applies.      At  an   earlier   day   of 
creation,    it  may  have  needed  recommendation.     We 
read    that    Daksha,    son    of    Brahma    the    Creator, 
when  ordered  by  his  Father  to  go  forth  and  multiply, 
created  with  much  penance    and    ascetic    practice,  a 
band   of  ten   thousand  sons   called   Haryashvas,  and 
passed  on  to  them  the  divine  command.     And  they 
went    forth,    obedient,    but    not    knowing,  nor  very 
willing.     Xarada,    taking    pity   on    their    innocence, 
wishing   to   save   them  from  the  dreadful  turmoil  of 
the  life  of  matter,  taught  them  the  way  of  the  Spirit, 
iind   T)aksha  lost  the   whole  band.     He  then  created 
another  band  ot  rive  thousand  sons  called    Shabal- 
ashvas.     They  also  were  led  astray  by  Narada  in   the 
same  way.     Then  Daksha  reproved  Narada  for  his 
unwisdom  and  premature  haste  : 

The  soul  realiseth  not  the  sharpness  of  the 
objects  of  the  senses,  the  sharpness  of  the  plea- 
sures that  come  from  them  at  the  first,  and  of  the 
pains  that  follow  afterwards  without  fail.  Xone 
should  therefore  prematurely  break  the  giowth 
of  another's  intelligence,  "which  grows  only  by 
exercise  amidst  sense-objects,  but  should  enable 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANU's    CODE    OF    LIFK  31 

him  to  find  dispassion  and   renunciation  by  him- 

self. ' 

And  Daksha  laid  a  doom  on  Narada  that  he 
should  never  cease  from  wandering  through  the 
worlds,  taking  births  in  even  monkey-bodies  himself 
—  the  meaning  of  which  has  been  explained  in  The 
Secret  Doctrine,  that  the  physical  bodies  were  defiled 
in  the  earlier  races  by  the  sin  of  the  mindless,  and  so 
anthropoid  forms  were  created,  and  those  who  had 
disobeyed  the  commands  of  the  Lord  of  Progeny  in 
the  beginning  were  compelled  to  take  birth  in  these 
degraded  bodies,  the  most  developed  descendants  of 
which  helped  King  Rama  of  the  Aryan  Race  in  his 
war  with  Rilvana,  Ruler  of  the  Atlantean  Rakshasas. 

At  that  early  stage,  then,  desire  for  sense-pleasure 
had  to  be  nursed  and  fostered  and  stimulated,  as  a 
sleep}'  child  in  the  morning  requires  to  be  aroused 
again  and  again.  To-day,  it  has  run  to  overgrowth. 
So  far  indeed  is  it  from  needing  recommendation,  that 
indeed  it  needs  constant  restriction.  One  in  a  million 
human  beings  perhaps  does  not  suffer  from  the  tyran- 
ny of  the  senses.  All  our  mind,  all  our  body,  instinct- 
ively runs  in  the  direction  of  sense-objects.  If,  then, 
desire  had  been  enunciated  by  the  Manu  as  a  thing 
to  be  honored  and  pursued  as  the  prime  object  of  life 


*:  U 
Vishnu-Btiagarafa,  VI.  v.  41. 


32  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

by  His  progeny,  then  indeed  that  object  would  have 
defeated  itself  and  perished  in  a  riot  of  excess.  Hence 
the  mention  of  desire  for  pleasure,  but  with  warnings. 
The  due  realisation  of  sensuous  happiness  by  a  human 
being  of  the  epoch  for  which  the  laws  are  intended 
is  possible  only  in  and  by  means  of  organixrd  xocn'hj. 
For  the  sense-pleasure  of  the  human  being  is  not  like 
that  of  the  animal,  a  simple  and  direct  satisfaction  of 
the  physical  appetites,  but  is  exceedingly  complex. 
While  the  basis  is  no  doubt  the  material  vehicle  with 
its  sensor  and  motor  organs,  the  form  has  become  in- 
termixed and  refined  with  infinite  mental  moods, 
thoughts  and  emotions,  and  also  the  influence  of  the 
nearing  current  of  retirement  and  the  gradual  dawn- 
ing of  the  Universal  Self  within  the  individual.  The 
result  of  these  conditions  and  influences  is  that  sense- 
pleasure  ha.s  taken  on  the  form  of  a  craving',  not  to 
be  gainsaid,  for  the  life  of  the  family  and  the  nation 
and  the  race,  all  meaning  sympathy  and  love ;  and  of 
a  growing  desire  for  the  fine  arts,  capable  of  deve- 
lopment only  in  a  condition  of  social  organisation 
which  makes  such  a  just  division  of  labor  that  suffi- 
cient leisure  and  means  to  each,  according  to  the  full 
of  his  capacities,  become  possible.  Without  such 
leisure  to  each  individual  and  without  wealth  in 
the  race,  accumulated  primarily  in  national  possess- 
ions and  secondarily  in  private  homes,  the  refinement.- 
of  sense-pleasure — music,  poetry,  painting,  sculpture, 
parks  and  gardens,  architectural  monuments,  aesthetic 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MAND's    CODE    OF    LIFE  33 

dresses  and  conveyances,  beautiful  domestic  animals 
— all  these  would  be  impossible.  Hence  the  stress 
laid  on  profit,  riches  (Art  ha),  worldly  means  and 
possessions. 

But  yet  again,  the  storing  up  of  personal  and  na- 
tional possessions,  nay,  the  very  forming  and  holding 
together  of  a  social  organisation  at  all,  would  be 
wholly  impossible,  if  the  inherent  selfishness  of  the 
individual  were  not  restricted  and  restrained  by 
f)  bar  ma,  if  rights  were  not  controlled  by  Duty,  if 
the  production  and  distribution  of  wealth  were  not 
governed  by  law  mid  the  liberty  of  each  modified 
by  the  needs  of  all.  This  lesson  of  the  law  of 
give-and-take,  humanity  in  general  has  not  learnt 
at  all  well,  even  yet,  though  the  epoch  of  the 
highest  development  of  sensuous  selfishness  and 
enjoyment  passed  away  with  the  Atlantean  Race. 
The  Law-giver,  as  law-giver,  therefore  confidently 
leaves  sense-pleasure  to  take  care  of  itself,  knowing 
well  that  it  will  do  so  even  more  than  is  necessary, 
only  laying  down  such  rules  for  hygiene  and  sanita- 
tion as  will  maintain  and  enhance  the  efficacy  of  the 
physical  body  and  its  organs  for  subservience  to  the 
higher  kinds  of  sense-pleasure.  To  wealth  He  gives 
more  attention,  laj'ing  down  rules  for  the  division  of 
the  social  labor  and  the  gathering  of  wealth  in  the 
hands  of  certain  classes,  under  conditions  which  would 
secure  the  benefits  of  it  to  all  the  people  according  to 
their  respective  needs.  To  D  liar  ma  He  addresses 
3 


34  MANU    IN    THK    LIGHT    OF    THKOSOPHY 

Himself  with  all  His  might,  interweaving  it  at  every 
step  with  the  other  two,  and  insisting  on  it  with  detail 
of  penal  consequences  for  breach  of  each  and  any 
duty  by  each  and  every  one. 

I)  li  arm  a  is  that  which  uplifts  to  heights  of 
honor  and  greatness.  Dharma  is  that  scheme, 
that  network,  of  the  duty  of  each  which  holds  to- 
gether all  the  children  of  Maim  in  oryanic  cohe- 
sion, and  prevents  them  from  falling  apart  in 
pieces,  in  ruin  :ind  destruction.  1)  harm  a,  A  rtha 
and  Kama,  this  trinity  is  the  sweet  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  life.  It  is  the  fulfilment  of  the  object  of  the 
soul's  taking  birth  in  flesh.  Without  Duty,  the 
other  two,  Profit  and  Pleasure,  are  verily  impossi- 
ble. Barren  rock  shall  sooner  yield  rich  harvest 
than  lack  of  righteousness  yield  riches  and  their 
joys.  From  righteousness  and  steady  obser- 
vance of  one's  duty,  both  arise  unfailingly;  from 
Duty  is  born  happiness  here  and  hereafter  .* 
On  the  eve  of  the  Mahabharata  war,  the  Rshi 
Vyasa  cried  and  cried  in  vain  : 

I   cry  with  lifted  arm,    and  yet   none  heedeth. 
From  Righteousness   flow  forth  abundantly  both 


I'/tr.'/t/r,  cxlv.  '27. 


ll<ili<~'lilt<~imt'i,  K.arna  Parva,  cxix.  59. 


rpiTT  II 

a  Pin-  u  no.  ccxli.  3,  4. 


I'HE     FOUMiATlON     OF     MAN'u's    ('OI)IO    OF    L1FK  35 

Pleasure     and     Profit.      Why     do    ye    not    then 
follow  Righteousness  ?' 

But  they  heeded  not  the  cry,  and  the  result  was  that 
that  which  they  fought  for,  the  pleasure  and  the  pro- 
fit of  all  the  combatants,  were  drowned  in  a  sea  of 
blood.  \  terrible  lesson  for  all  the  ages  that  may 
follow.  The  glories  of  science  and  art  and  military 
trnppings  and  bravery  and  all  the  splendors  of  the 
finest  civilisation  are  mere  dust,  nay,  more,  they  are  so 
much  explosive  powder,  so  much  the  stronger  agents 
for  destruction,  if  the  civilisation  is  not  based  on 
D  li  ar  in  a.  In  minute  detail  also  we  find  that  every 
administrative  problem  whatsoever,  in  the  ultimate 
analysis,  always  traces  down  to  character  and  ethics. 
Hence  then  we  have  three  ends  ordained  for  the 
worldly  half  of  life  :  virtue  or  duty,  profit  and  pleasure. 
Virtue,  for  thence  only  stable  profit ;  profit,  for  thence 
only  the  higher  pleasure.  Pleasure,  for  without  it 
profit  is  a  load  and  a  burden  intolerable ;  profit,  for 
without  it  piety  is  meaningless. 

Cast  out  the  profit  and  the  pleasui-e  which 
are  opposed  to  duty.  And  cast  out  that  duty 
also,  regard  it  not  as  duty,  which  is  opposed  to 
and  hurts  the  feeling  of  the  general  public,  and 
leads  not  to  any  joy,  even  in  the  distance.2 


II 

Manu,  iv.  176. 


36  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

Having  exhausted  these  three  objects  of  the  first 
half  of  life  in  due  proportion  and  subservience  to 
each  other,  the  embodied  self  enters  upon  the  second 
half  of  life.  The  object  of  this  second  half  is  stated 
by  the  Maim  to  be  Liberation  (M  o  k  s  h  a). 

Having  paid  off  the  three  debts,  the  human 
being  should  direct  the  mind  to  Liberation.  Not 
without  discharging  them  in  full  may  he  desire 
Liberation.  If  he  does  so  aspire  upwards  before 
due  time,  he  will  fall  the  deeper  into  matter.1 

None  may  hope  to  go  to  the  holy  Sages,  who  breaks 
his  human  ties  recklessly. 

As  the  three  ends  of  the  Path  of  Pursuit  are  inter- 
dependent, so  also  all  these,  taken  together,  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  end  of  the  Path  of  Renunciation  on 
the  other,  are  interdependent  also.  As  the  two 
halves  of  the  circle  of  life  have  no  meaning  without 
each  other,  so,  naturally,  their  respective  ends  have 
none  except  in  contrast  with  each  other.  To  seek  the 
one  without  having  passed  through  the  other;  to  pass 
through  the  other  without  looking  forward  to  the 
one  —  are  equally  vain.  Only  after  pursuit  is  renuncia- 
tion possible.  Only  after  renunciation  of  the  lower  is 
pursuit  of  the  higher  possible. 

The  three  debts  mentioned  in  the  verse  of  Mann 
are  the  concomitants  of  the  three  ends  of  the  Path  of 


M 

Mann,  vi.   35. 


THE    FOUNDATION    OP    MANFj's    CODE    OF    LIFE  37 

Pursuit ;  and,  together  with  those  ends  arise  out  of 
the  threefold  desire  which  leads  the  embodied  self 
on  that  Path. 

The  modern    world  has  begun  to  recognise  what  is 
called  the  social   debt ;  the    debt  of  each  individual, 
for  whatsoever  he  is  and  has,  to  the   society  in  the 
midst  of  which  he   has  been  given  birth  and  helped 
to  grow.     The    ancients    have   recognised    a   greater 
extent  and  significance  in  this  congenital  indebtedness 
of  each  individual.    They  have  classified  it  into  three 
parts;  the  debt  to  the  Gods  (d  e  v  a-r  n  a) ;  the  debt  to 
the  Ancestors  (pit  r-r  11  a) ;    the  debt  to  the  Teachers 
(rshi-rna).    The  Gods  (d  evas),  the  spirits  or  forces 
of  nature,  provide  the  individual  soul  with  the  natural 
environments,  the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  waters,  the 
air,  the  heat  and  light  and  all  the  wealth  of  material 
objects,  which  make  it  possible  for  him  to  gain  experi- 
ence   of   the   sharpness   of   sense-objects  for  pleasure 
and  for  pain.  The  Ancestoi-s  (p it  rs),  the  most  distant 
as  well  as  the  nearest,  taken  collectively,  provide  him 
with  the  germinal  cell  embodying  the  experiences  of 
the  millions   of  ancestors,    which   cell   develops  into 
his   body  with  its  infinite  potencies  and  faculties,  and 
is   the   sole    means    of    contact  with  the  outer  world. 
Lastly,  the  Teachers   (r  s  h  i  s),    the  guides    of  human 
evolution,   the   custodians   of  all  knowledge,  provide 
him  with   the  intelligence,  the  mind,   which    makes 
the  contact  between  his    body  and  his  surroundings 
fruitful    and   significant ;    which  holds  together  the 


38  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOI'HY 

experiences  gathered,  and  becomes  the  substratum  of 
what  we  know  as  individual  immortality.  Receiving 
these  three  gifts,  the  embodied  self  contracts  a  sepa- 
rate debt  for  each. 

The  desire  that  impels  him  to  accept  the  gifts  and 
incur  the  debts  appears  as  threefold  also  in  conse- 
quence, though  in  reality  it  is  but  one.  It  appears  as 
the  desire  for  the  possessions  of  the  world,  as  the 
means  to  sense-enjoyments  (v  i  t  t  a  i  s  li  n  n  A)  ;  as  the 
desire  for  pleasures  and  sex-joys  and  self-enhance- 
ment in  the  body  and  self-multiplication  and  perpetua- 
tion in  the  progeny  (p  u  t  r  a  i  s  h  a  n  a)  ;  and  finally  as 
the  desire  for  the  world,  for  a  local  habitation  and 
;«  name,  for  honor  and  credit,  as  a  means  to  both 
(1  o  k  a  i  s  h  ana).  These  three  obviously  correspond 
to  wealth,  sense-pleasure,  and  duty,  or,  in  terms  of 
consciousness,  to  action,  desire  and  cognition. 

The  means  of  paying  off  these  debts  are  parts  of 
I)  h  a  r  m  a  ,  and  go  side  by  side  with  the  fulfilment  of 
the  three  objects  of  the  Path  of  Pursuit.  They  are 
three  also :  sacrifices,  principally  in  the  form  of  high 
emotions  and  hymns  and  various  bloodless  rites  of 
special  superphysical  efficacy  at  the  proper  seasons  ; 
gifts  and  charities  and  help  and  service  to  other  men, 
and  the  rearing  up  of  progeny  and  taking  as  much 
trouble  for  them  as  the  ancestors  have  done  for 
the  debtor ;  and,  finally,  the  passing  on  to  others 
of  the  instruction  received  by  himself  and  so 
keeping  the  torch  of  knowledge  ever  burning.  These 


THK    FOUNDATION    <>F    MA\l''s    CODE    OF    LIFE  39 

will  be  dealt  with  further,  later  on.  Here  they  are 
referred  to  as  connected  with  the  ends  of  the  Path  of 
Pursuit,  as  preliminary  to  the  entrance  on  the  Path  of 
Renunciation,  and  as  intermediate  preparation  for 
Liberation,  the  goal  of  that  Path. 

How  is  it  that  while  three  objects  are  described  for 
the  Path  of  Pursuit,  there  is  only  one  mentioned  for 
the  Path  of  Renunciation  ?  We  have  seen  that,  in 
strictness,  there  is  only  one  object  on  the  first  path 
also,  viz.,  sense-pleasure,  and  that  the  two  others  are 
mentioned  for  special  reasons.  On  the  second  path, 
one  object,  similarly,  is  the  principal  one,  viz.,  Libera- 
tion or  Salvation.  But  Liberation  does  not  depend 
for  its  realisation  on  any  other  object  in  the  same  way 
that  sense-pleasure  does  on  duty  and  wealth.  It 
would  seem,  rather,  that  such  other  subsidiary  objects 
as  may  be  connected  with  the  Path  of  Renunciation 
depend  for  their  realisation  on  the  one-pointed  and 
whole-hearted  striving  after  Liberation,  freedom  from 
the  bonds  of  matter  and  of  sense-enjoyments.  These 
subsidiary  objects  are  superphysical  powers  (yoga- 
.«  i  d  d  h  i)  and  devotion  (b  h  a  k  t  i).  These  three  are 
no  doubt  as  inseparably  interdependent  as  the  other 
three.  But  the  distinction  is  that,  in  the  one  triplet, 
Duty,  in  reality  the  most  subsidiary,  is  made  most 
prominent,  for  practical  purposes ;  while,  in  the  other, 
for  the  same  reasons,  the  main  end  is  made  the  most 
prominent.  The  opposition  in  the  nature  of  the  two 


40  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

paths  leads  to    this   '  inversion  by   reflexion  '   in  the 
degrees  of  importance  of  the  respective  objects. 

The  Dharma  of  the  Path  of  Renunciation  is  the 
longing  and  striving  after  Liberation,  dispassion  in 
ever-increasing  degree,  which  itself  in  its  culmination 
and  climax  becomes  the  highest  knowledge  and  the 
final  peace. 

In  the  words  of  the  Yoga-BhJshya  (i.  16): 

There  are  two  states  of  dispassion  —  one,  the 
preliminary  and  inchoate,  with  which  the 
Path  opens,  and  the  final  and  perfected  with 
which  it  ends.  The  final  dispassion  is  but  the 
blossoming  of  knowledge,  the  highest  realisation 
of  the  Truth  of  Oneness.1 

The  wealth  of  that  Path  is  the  wealth  of  super- 
physical  powers.  2 

About  these  powers  and  lordlinesses  we  i*ead  the 
paradoxes  in  the  Yoga-Sutra: 

They  are  the  epiphenomena,  the  bye-products, 
of  the  striving  after  samadhi  8  and  are  so 
many  hindrances  in  the  way  of  complete  realisa- 
tion of  samadhi.  When  the  embodied  self 
awakens  and  vises  up  out  of  samadhi,  then 


TO 

2  Yoga-vib  h  u  t  i,  aishvarya,  siddhi,  shakti, 
as  it  is  variously  named. 

8  A  state  of  consciousness  reached  in  profound 
meditation,  in  which  the  body  is  completely  entranced, 
and  the  consciousness  fully  active  in  a  higher  world. 
There  is  no  equivalent  word  in  English  at  present. 


THK    FOUNDATION    OP    MAXU's    CODE    OF    LIFE  41 

they  manifest  in  him  as  powers,  accomplishments, 
perfections.1 
Again  we  read  : 

When  the  aspirant  is  established  and  confirm- 
ed in  the  virtue  of  probity,  of  utter  absence  of 
desire  to  misappropriate,  then  all  hidden  gems 
and  jewels  and  riches  of  nature  become  available 
to  him.2 
Also  : 

When  he  becomes  perfected  in  the  virtue  of 
continence,  then  irresistible  creative  energy  ac- 
crues to  him8 

And  many  other  similar  paradoxes.  Also  in  the 
Light  oil  the  Path,  after  a  series  of  apparent  incon- 
sistencies, we  are  told  similar  things  : 

Enquire  of  the  earth,   the  air  and  the  water, 
of  the  secrets  they  hold  for  you  .  .  •  Enquire  of  the 
Holy  Ones  of  the  earth,  of  the  secrets  they  hold 
for  you.     The  conquering  of  the  desires  of  the 
outer  senses  will  give  you  the  right  to  do  this. 
We  wonder  why  the  gain  of  gems  and  jewels  when 
we  are  not  to  want  them  ;  why  the   accumulation  of 
resistless  power  when  it  is  not  to  be  exercised  ;  why 
the  enquiry  after  secrets  when  we  must  not  profit  by 
them  ;  why  any  kind  of  sovereign  powers,  when  our 
main  work  is  the  perfecting  of  dispassion,  renunciation, 
desirelessness,  actioiilessness  ! 

The  answer  to  the  paradox  is  simple.  We  have 
only  to  add  two  more  words  to  the  last.  We  have  to 


II     iii-  37. 


II     ii-  37. 


II     ii-  38. 


42  MANU    IX    THK    LIGHT    OF    THKOSOPHY 

say  that  the  walker  on  the  Path  of  Renunciation 
avoids  desire  and  action  and  pursuit  of  any  object 
for  himxelf,  for  his  own  personal  pleasure  and  profit. 
When  such  avoidance  has  become  habitual  to  his  inind, 
then  the  Lords  of  Nature,  the  Sages,  the  Administrators 
of  the  world,  endeavor  to  enlist  such  an  embodied  self 
in  Their  service,  in  the  service  of  Their  world,  and 
entrust  him  with  powers  which  he  receives  and  exer- 
cises like  all  lower  powers,  for  the  good  of  others  as 
public  trusts,  and  not  for  his  own  enjoyment  as 
private  property.  Moreover  these  become  to  him  as 
much  the  natural  and  normal  organs  of  his  conscious- 
ness as  the  physical  senses. 

Prahlada,  tempted  with  many  boons  by  Nrsimha, 
declined,  but  was  compelled  to  take  charge  of  the 
Daityas  for  the  period  of  the  Round.  He  pleaded  : 

Do  not  tempt  me  with  these  boons,   my  Lord ! 
From  very  birth  have  I  been  ever  afraid  of  falling 
into  their  toils  and  come  to  Thee  for  Liberation, 
not  for  boons. 
But  the  answer  was  : 

It  is  true  that  they  \vho  have  placed  their 
hearts  in  Me,  as  thou  hast  done,  want  nothing 
else.  Yet  still,  for  the  period  of  this  Manu-cycle, 
thou  shalt  be  the  Overlord  of  all  the  Titan 
Kings.  Then,  having  exhausted  all  thy  merit 
by  enjoyments,  thy  sins  by  new  good  deeds,  and 
the  vitality  of  the  sheath  by  the  lapse  of  time  ; 
and  having  left  behind  for  the  instruction  of  the 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANU's    CODE    OF    LIFF.  43 

world  the  example  of  a  noble  name  which  shall  be 
sung  in  heaven  —  thou  shalt  then  come  to  me.  l 
Those  only  in  whom  the  impersonal  predomi- 
nates over  the  personal  are  qualified  to  walk  upon 
that  razor-edged  path  on  which  power  has  to 
be  held,  but  must  not  be  tasted.  Those  who  rule 
themselves  with  rods  of  iron,  those  only  are  fit  to 
guide  others  with  the  fingers  of  gentleness.  Such 
become  office-bearers  (adhikaris),  of  high  and 
low  degree,  according  to  the  perfection  of  their  dis- 
passion  and  their  superphysical  powers.  It  is  true 
that  from  the  standpoint  of  Pursuit,  he  who  takes  an 
'  interest  '  in  the  work,  who  is  eager  and  anxious  to 
acquire  office  and  exercise  its  powers,  who  takes  keen 
pleasure  in  such  exercise  —  he  is  the  proper  person  to 
be  put  into  that  office.  But  from  the  standpoint  of 
Eenunciation,  he  who  is  unwilling  to  receive  power 
lest  he  should  be  tempted  to  abuse  it  and  grow  his 
egoism  (  a  h  a  n  k  a  r  a  )  again,  who  is  always  full  of 


BJiuyavata,  VII.  x.  2,  11,  13. 


44  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOFHY 

the  sense  of  responsibility  and  duty,  who  is  anxious 
to  be  relieved  of  office  as  soon  as  may  be  in  accord- 
ance with  the  will  of  the  higher — he  is  the  proper 
person  to  be  entrusted  with  office,  in  the  certainty 
that  he  will  never  misuse  authority,  and  ever  exercise 
power  for  the  good  of  others  and  never  for  his  own 
aggrandisement. 

Every  embodied  self  must  pass  through  this  condi- 
tion of  office-bearer,  in  a  general  sense,  on  the  super- 
physical  planes,  sooner  or  later,  even  as  he  has  to,  to 
some  extent,  on  the  physical.  In  the  physical  life, 
the  man  grows  up  under  the  triple  debt  mentioned 
before,  and  repays  them  too  by  rearing  up  and 
educating  a  family  and  serving  his  fellow-men  and 
the  Lords  of  Nature,  even  as  he  has  been  reared, 
educated,  helped.  In  making  such  repayment,  every 
head  of  a  house  becomes  an  office-bearer  and  exer- 
cises powers  of  some  sort.  The  same  process  is 
repeated  011  a  larger  scale  on  the  subtler  planes  with 
superphysical  powers.  And  Manu's  verse  then 
acquires  a  larger  significance.  After  having  served 
his  term  of  duty  and  of  office  in  the  honest  ministra- 
tion of  his  trust,  as  a  term  of  burden-bearing 
imprisonment,  in  awe  and  trembling — for  even  "great 
ones  fall  back,  even  from  the  threshold,  unable  to 
sustain  the  weight  of  their  responsibility  "  '  (as  Jay  a 
and  A7ijaya  fell  from  the  threshold  of  Vishnu's  abode), 
and  so  lose  long  ages  of  time — after  such  service  is 

1  Light  on  the  Path. 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANIAS    CODE    OF    LIFE  45- 

he  allowed  to  retire  and  enter  the  Abode  of  Peace. 
Then  only  can  he  deposit  his  mind  in  Liberation,  as 
Manu  says  ;  and  as  Shankara  declares,  commenting 
on  the  aphorism  of  Vyasa  : 

Together     with    Bi-ahma,    the  great  Sages  — 

l>eholding  the  term  expire  of  rulership  and  the 

wielding  of  the   powers  appurtenant  to  it  ;  and 

beholding    too  the  time  of  rest   and   retirement 

arrive  after  the  closing   of  the  cycle  of  mani- 

festation —  withdraw  their  minds  from  work  and 

enter  into  the  High  Abode   of  Oneness,   where 

the  Supreme  Self-Consciousness  reigns  eternally. 

and  all  sense  of  separateness  is  lost.  ' 

Such   lordliness,  then,  is  the  wealth  (art  ha)  of  thi& 

Path.     Its   sense-pleasure    (kama)    is   love   divine, 

love   universal    (Bhakti),  the  opposite  of  personal 

human  likes  and  lusts.     It  is  the   constant  feeling  of 

the    Universal    Self,     as    exercise    of   superphysical 

powers   and  office-bearing  are  the  functioning  of  that 

Self  in  action.     This  devotion,   directed  towards  the 

highest  Deity  and  Ideal  that  any  particular  embodied 

self's  mind  can  rise  to,  becomes  gradually  inclusive  of 

all   the  embodied  selves  that  are  looked  upon  as  the 

progeny,   indeed  as   veritable  parts  and  pieces  and 

sparks   of  that  Deity,  and,  ultimately,  of  the  Universal 

Self. 


.  u 

f*rf<;*in:  HN^iRr  <T*  T?1!.  I      HI-  iii- 


46  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    Ov    THKOSOPHY 

The  wise  ones  embrace  all  within  their  love, 
and  devote  themselves  to  the  good  of  sill  equally. 
for  they  know  well  that  the  Lord  is  in,  and 
indeed  is,  all  beings.  ' 

We  saw  that  on  the  first  path,  Duty  (1)  harm  a) 
leads  to  Profit  (Art  ha),  and  Profit  to  Pleasure 
(Kama).  On  the  second  aud  final  path  \ve  see 
that  Love  (Bhakti),  in  the  sense  of  yearning 
after  the  final  goal,  leads  to  Power  (Shakti),  and 
that  in  turn  to  Liberation  (Mukti;.  Krshna  says 
to  Uddhava  : 

The  aspirant  who  has  conquered  his  senses. 
his  respimtions  and  his  p  ran  as,  which  go  one 
with  another  in  restlessness,  by  the  conquest  of 
his  mind  ;  and  who  fixes  that  mind  on  .Me  —  on 
him  the  divine  glories  wait  attendant.2  For  he 
has  identified  himself,  by  love,  with  Me  who 
am  the  Guide  and  the  Lord  of  all.  And  there- 
fore his  command  is  as  compelling  as  mine.  He 
whose  intelligence  has  been  consecrated  and 
made  stainless  by  devotion  unto  Me,  and  who 
knows  the  art  of  concentration  —  his  vision 
extends  into  all  three  reaches  of  time,  beyond 
and  including  many  births  and  deaths.  I  am  the 


^  hi  Had  tar 

\'!shnn  1'ni-ii/in,  I.  xix.  9. 

2  The  drawing  of  fresh  energy  out  of  rest  and 
sleep,  of  inspiration  out  of  devotional  and  intellectual 
4  blank  '  meditation  are  instances  of  the  same  law. 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANtl's    CODE    OF    LIFE  47 

Lord  and  the  souire  of  all  perfections,  and  1  am 
tin-  fount  of  the  d  li  a  rm  as  tuny-lit  by  the  Yoya, 
the  Sftmkkya  and  tlie  declarei-s  of  Brahman.  J 

Kven  on  the  physical  pla,ne,  tlie  sovereign  of  any 
people  is  the  embodiment  of  all  the  might  of  that 
people,  and  any  authority,  any  powers,  any  possess- 
ions, held  by  any  individuals  amongst  that  people, 
are  derived  from  that  sovereign,  either  directly  by  ap- 
pointment to  an  office  on  proof  of  special  merit  in 
definitely  prescribed  ways,  or,  indirectly,  by  suffer- 
ance and  tacit  permission  by  means  of  legal  support 
in  various  kinds  of  activities,  on  their  satisfying 
conditions  of  merit  of  other  kinds  in  other  ways. 
Much  more  perfectly  is  this  the  case  when  the  organis- 
ation of  a  world-system  in  all  its  parts  is  concerned, 
where  all  creatures  are  literally  pieces  and  sparks  of 
the  Logos,  and  live  and  move  and  have  their  being 
in  Him  who  is  to  them  the  nearest  and  the  highest 
representative  of  the  Common  Self;  and  where  the 
administration  is  carried  on  by  Spiritual  Hierarchies, 


Vishnu  13h'~irjai-at(i,  XI.  xv. 


48  MAXT    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THKOSOPHY 

manned  by  selves  occupying  different  grades  on  the 
Path  of  Renunciation,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest, 
all  inspired  by  the  Principle,  the  Consciousness,  of 
Unity  and  of  Good,  which  ever  prevails  over  separate- 
ness  and  evil,  at  the  end  of  every  cycle,  for  the  clear 
reason  that  separativeness  is  weak  with  its  own  inher- 
ent internecine  war. 

We  thus  sec  that  devotion  is  a  means  to  lordliness, 
and  that  lordliness  is  approximation  to  the  state  of  the 
object  of  devotion,  viz.,  the  Supreme  Lord,  Ishvara. 
Even  those  on  the  Path  of  Pursuit  always  obtain  what- 
ever of  power  they  acquire  by  means  of  such  devotion, 
for  the  time  being,  and  whether  it  be  conscious  or  un- 
conscious. For  continuous  craving  after  something, 
and  constant  meditation  as  to  how  to  secure  it,  and 
refraining  from  all  ways  and  deeds  which  prevent  its 
acquisition,  are  essentially  such  devotion.  It  is  not 
directed  consciously  to  an  individual  deity  truly  ;  but 
it  is  the  unconscious  prayer  for  help  of  the  part  to 
the  Whole,  of  the  individual  to  the  Universal  store- 
house, the  Fount  of  all  knowledge  and  power ;  and 
sitch  unconscious  prayer  to  the  Impersonal  is  always 
answered  by  Him  in  whom  the  Impersonal  predomi- 
nates the  most  over  the  Personal,  in  any  system. 
The  Vishnu-Bhayavata  tells  how  in  the  Tamasa 
(minor)  Manvantara,  two  high  beings,  because 
of  the  seeds  of  selfishness  and  strife  in  them,  fell, 
along  the  arc  of  descent,  into  the  gigantic  bodies  of 
primeval  mastodon  and  dragon  of  the  deep, 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MANIAS    CODE    OF    LIFE  49 

and  warred  against  each  other  in  age-long 
struggle  working  out  the  seeds  of  evil,  till  the 
mastodon,  weakening,  sent  up  a  nameless  prayer  to  the 
Undefined,  with  all  the  strength  of  its  indefinite  mind  ; 
and  how  the  Chief  Ruler  of  the  system,  representa- 
tive, to  the  system,  of  the  Supreme  and  the  Undefin- 
able,  answered  the  prayer,  and  released  the  two 
mortal  enemies  from  their  doom  : 

That  king  of  mastodons  poured  out  his  soul  in 
prayer  unto  the  Nameless.  And  Brahma  and  the 
other  high  Gods,  too  much  attached  to  their  own 
names  and  marks,  came  not.     Then  Hari    came, 
the  Oversoul  of  all  the  beings  of   this    system, 
combining  all  the  Gods  in  His  own  pei-son.  l 
The    Yoga-sutra    also   indicates  2    that    the   Being 
who  is  the  Most    Ancient,  the  Most  Omniscient,    in  a 
world-system,    is  its  Ishvara,   its   Ruler,   its   Supreme 
Logos,  and    that  all    superphysical    powers  and   all 
perfections   may  be  obtained,   by  the    beings  of  that 
system,    by    surrender  and  submission  to  Him,    and 
identification  of  self  with  Him. 

But  because  of  the  recurrent  danger  of  selfishness 
and  misappropriation  of  trust-possessions  and  conse- 
quent fall,  is  the  warning  repeatedly  given  that  the 


it     VTH.  iii.  30. 


1.  23-26  ;  II.  1,  32,  45. 


50  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

possessions  which  an  aspirant  may  desire  should  be 
such  as  can  "  be  possessed  by  all  pure  souls  equally;  1 
his  powers  must  ever  be  governed  by  Devotion,  and 
his  devotion  ever  joined  to  Wisdom  and  Dispassion, 
ever  looking  forward  to  Liberation.2  Lest  the  embodied 
self  should  falter  even  when  placed  high,  and  fall 
back  into  egoism  again,  he  is  advised  ever  to  fix 
his  gaze  on  that  which  may  not  be  seen  by  the  eyes, 
not  be  heard  by  the  ears,  which  indeed  has  no 
outward  being,  which  is  out  of  existence,  out  of 
manifestation,  which  is  eternal  and  beyond  everything 
and  anything  that  passes,  however  glorious  this 
transient  thing  may  be  from  our  present  standpoint. 

Let  the  man  discriminate  between  the  good 
and  the  evil,  the  right  and  the  wrong,  the 
true  and  the  false,  the  real  and  the  unreal,  and 
so  discriminating  yet  let  him  one-pointedly 
ever  behold  all  in  the  Self,  the  passing  as 
well  as  the  lasting.  He  who  beholdeth  all 
in  the  Self,  in  himself,  his  mind  strayeth  not 
into  sin.3 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  Foundation  of  Manu's 
Code  of  Life,  the  circling  of  the  World-process,  and 
the  goals  of  its  two  halves. 

1  Light  on  the  Path  ;  also    V.  Bhagavata,  II.  ix.  28,  29. 

"2  See  Padma  Purilna,  Bhagavata-Mahatmya,  ch.  ii.  for 
the  repeated  mention  of  this  triplet  ;  and  also  V.  Bhaya- 
wfo,  V.  v.  28. 


Manu,  xii.  118. 


THE    FOUNDATION    OF    MAXUJS    CODE    OF    LIFE  51 

To  summarise  : 

The  activity  dealt   with  by  the  Scripture  is  of 

two  kinds  :    Pursuit  of  prosperity  and  pleasure, 

and  Renunciation  of  and  retirement  from  these, 

leading  to  the  highest  good,  the  bliss  than  which 

there  is  no  greater.     Action  done  for  one's  own 

sake,  out  of  the   wish   for  personal  joys  in  this 

and  the  other    world,    is    of   the   former    kind. 

Action  done   without  such  desire,  with  unselfish 

desire  for  the  good  of  others,  and  with  such  con- 

scious and  deliberate  purpose,  and  not  merely  out 

of  instinctive  goodness,  is  of  the  latter  kind.  Pur- 

suing the  course  of  the  former,  the  embodied  self 

may  attain  to  the  joys  of  the  Lords  of  Nature 

among     whom  sense-pleasures   are    keenest,    so 

that  they  think  not  of  Liberation.     Pursuing  the 

latter   he  crosses  beyond  the  regions  of  the  five 

elements.1 

These  two  Paths,  of  Pursuit  and  of  Renunciation  or 
Retirement,  are  summed  up  in  the  Wheel  of  Endless 
Rotation  (Anuvrtti),  which  is  referred  to  in  the 


He   who   helpeth     not   to     keep  moving  this 
Wheel  of  Life  which  hath  been  set  going  by  Me, 


Mnnu,  xii.  88-90. 


52  MANU    IN    THK    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

the  Universal  Self,  and  seeketh  only  the  pleasures 
of  his  own  senses,  lie  liveth  the  life  of  sin  and 
liveth  in  vain.1 

And  the  way  of  keeping  the  Wheel  moving  is  the 
following  out  of  the  ends  of  both  the  Paths  in  their 
due  proportion  and  time  : 

These  ends  are  (i.)  Kama-tamas,  (ii.)  Artha- 
rajas,  (iii.)  Charm  a-s  a  1  1  v  a,  for  the  Path 
of  Pursuit  ;  and  for  the  Path  of  Renunciation, 
(i.)  Bhakti-tamas,  (ii.)  Aishvarya-rajas, 
(iii.)  M  o  k  s  h  a-s  a  1  1  v  a.a 

For  the  Path  of  Pursuit  —  sense-pleasure  of  the 
nature  of  the  lower  clinging,  wealth  of  the  nature  of 
the  lower  restlessness,  duty  of  the  nature  of  the 
lower  harmony.  For  the  Path  of  K  enunciation,  also 
three  ends  —  devotion  of  the  nature  of  the  higher 
clinging,  superphysical  powers  and  office-bearing  of 
the  nature  of  the  higher  restlessness,  liberation 
attained  by  means  of  the  higher  harmony. 


i»,  16. 

n 

Mann,  xii.  38. 


V.  Bhiigavata,  XI.  xx.  8. 
and 


Yoga-Bhushya,  i.  2. 


THE    FOUNDATION    OP    MANIAS    CODE    OP    LIFE  53 

That  life  only  is  complete  which  secures  all  these 
ends  in  due  rotation. 

Only  he   who  passes  through  all  the  ordained 
stages,   one  after  another,  controlling  his  senses, 

See  also   V.  Bhdgarata,  V.   vi.  12 :    B^^rTKI   i^H-tm^rf- 
?'  I  In  the  Bhdyarata-Mahdtmya  of  the  Padma 
ii.    5,    B  h  a  k  t  i    is  said  to  be   s  a  d  r  u  p  a   3gHI, 
which  would  make  it  r  a  j  a  s  a. 

A  word  is  needed  here  as  to  the  Samskrt  terms  s  a  1 1  v  a, 
r  a  j  a  s,  t  a  m  a  s.  The  full  significance  of  these  is  attempted 
to  be  discussed  in  chapters  x,  xiv  and  xv  of  The  Science 
of  Peace.  Single  English  words  which  shall  exactly 
equate  with  these  are  not  to  be  found.  A  very  convenient 
triplet,  for  practical  purposes,  is  :  rhythm  or  harmony, 
mobility,  and  inertia.  And  this  triplet  has  so  far  been 
generally  used  in  Theosophical  literature,  to  translate  the 
Samskrt  terms.  In  strictness,  however,  these  three  are 
all  sub-divisions  of  r  a  j  a  s,  and  express  the  original  three 
in  terms  of  motion.  The  sattvika  sub-division  of 
raja  s,  uniform,  repetitive  movement,  movement  with 
1  unity  '  imposed  on  it,  is  rhythm  or  harmony.  Rajas- 
r  a  j  a  s  is  mobility.  The  t  a  m  a  s  a  form  of  raj  a  s,  '  persis- 
tence '  in  relative  rest  or  motion,  '  clinging,'  '  stead-fast- 
ness,' '  resistance  to  change  '  is  inertia.  In  The  Science  of 
Peace,  ch.  x,  '  cognisability  '  and  '  desirability  '  are  sug- 
gested, for  reasons  explained,  as  equivalents  for  s  a  1 1  v  a 
and  t  a  m  a  s  respectively.  But  the  spirit  of  the  English 
usage  is  against  their  successful  employment  for  this 
purpose.  '  Mobility  '  is  of  course  a  nearly  perfect  equival- 
ent for  r  a  j  a  s. 

We  might  distinguish  sub-divisions  under  the  other 
two,  as  under  rajas.  Thus,  the  sattvika  form  of 
'  desirability  '  would  be  beauty  and  the  r  a  j  a  s  a,  utility  ; 
while  the  r  a  j  a  s  a  form  of  '  cognisability  '  might  be  said, 
from  one  standpoint,  to  be  distinctness,  and  its  t  a  m  a  s  a 
form,  vagueness. 


54  MAND    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

offering  up  his  energies  to  the  fires  of  sacrifice, 
exhausting  his  vital  powers  in  the  helping  of 
others,  he  only,  when  his  sheath  of  grosser 
matter  falls  away,  rejoiceth  evermoi-e.  l 


II 
Manit,  vi.  34. 

Supplementary    Note    to  pp.    41    and   51. 

Much  confusion  and  puzzlement  of  thought  is  caused 
by  interpreting  n  i  s  h  k  a  m  a  t  a  as  desirelessness  or 
utter  absence  of  desire,  and  n  i  s  h  k  a  r  m  a  t  a  as  in- 
action or  actionlessness,  utter  absence  of  action.  The 
negative  prefix  in  such  Avords  is  not  purely  privative. 
Untruth  does  not  mean  merely  absence  of  truth,  but 
positive  falsehood.  Unreality  does  not  mean  mere 
emptiness  and  blank  space,  but  a  positive  illusion, 
something  which  has  the  appearance  of  reality.  Un- 
pleasantness does  not  mean  mere  indifference, 
but  the  opposite  of  pleasantness  —  painfulness.  The 
opposite  of  plus  is  not  zero,  but  minus.  So  nish- 
k  a  mat  a  means  not  the  utter  absence  of  all  desire, 
but  the  absence  of  selfish  desire  and  the  presence 
of  unselfishness,  which  is  not  a  merely  negative  quality 
but  is  positive  altruism.  And  n  i  s  h  k  a  r  m  a  t  a  does 
not  mean  inaction,  bat  the  absence  of  the  selfi*!* 
action  which  binds  and  the  presence  of  the  unselfish 
action  which  releases  the  soul  from  its  bonds  ;  it 
means  positive  self-sacrifice  and  the  repayment  of 
debts.  So,  finally,  a-vidya  does  not  mean  mere  ig- 
norance, mere  absence  of  knowledge,  but  perverted 
knowledge,  the  positive  Primal  Error  of  regarding 
the  Boundless  Self  as  identical  with  a  limited  body. 
See  Yoga-Bhashya,  ii.  5. 


LECTURE   II 

THE  WOBLD-PKOCESS  AND  THE  PROBLEMS  OF   LIFE 


f»*i  '-n(*i,  I 
II 

' 


The  Loi'd  of  Beings  maketh  and  uumaketh  count- 
less cycles  and  world-systems,  as  in  play.  For  the 
discriminate  and  righteous  conducting  of  life  therein, 
by  all  human  beings,  the  wise  Manu,  son  of  the 
Self-born,  framed  this  Science  of  Duty.  Herein  are 
declared  the  good  and  the  evil  results  of  various  deeds, 
and  herein  are  expounded  the  eternal  principles  of 
the  duties  of  all  the  four  types  of-  human  beings,  of 
many  lands,  nations,  tribes  and  families,  and  also  the 
ways  of  evil  men. 

Manu,  i.  80,  102,  107,  118. 


AT  our  last  meeting,  I  endeavored  to  place  before 
you  what  might  be  called  the  ground-plan  of  Manu's 
Scheme  of  Life,  in  a  few  triplets  of  words :  the  wheel 
of  life  and  its  two  halves  ;  the  three  ends  appropriate 


56  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

to  each  half  ;  the  corresponding  three  debts  and  three 
repayments  and  three  desires  —  arising,  in  their  turn, 
out  of  the  three  aspects  of  consciousness  and  the 
three  qualities  of  matter  ;  all  ultimately  based  on  the 
two  primal  factors  of  the  World-process,  viz.,  the 
Self  and  the  Not-Self,  and  the  Interplay  between 
them. 

To-day,  I  shall  endeavor  to  sketch  in  some  details, 
appertaining  to  our  own  particular  epoch  of  the  great 
life-cycle  of  the  Human  Race. 

It  is  obvious  that  laws  and  rules  are  not  independent 
of  the  kinds  and  circumstances  of  the  men  whom  they 
are  intended  to  guide  and  govern.  Particular  laws 
correspond  with  particular  conditions  ;  general  with 
general.  Unchanging  laws  can  be  related  only  to 
unchanging  facts.  Changing  facts  require  changing 
laws.  This  is  amply  recognised  and  prominently 
enunciated  by  Manu  : 

The  scheme  of  laws  and  rights  and  duties, 
varies  with  the  variations  in  the  conditions  of 
changing  cycles.  It  is  one  for  the  Krta-yuga  ; 
it  is  another  for  the  Tret  a  ;  it  is  still  other  for 
the  Dvapara  period  ;  and  yet  again  is  it  different 
for  the  Kaliyuga.1 


I      i-  85. 

The  four  yugas,  or  ages,  are  the  four  cycles 
through  which  pass  a  globe,  a  country,  a  race,  etc. 
For  an  individual  they  are,  physically  :  childhood, 
youth,  maturity,  old  age  (the  four  ashramas). 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE    57 

The  ways  of  living  cannot  be  the  same  for  child- 
hood, for  youth,  for  middle  age,  and  for  the  bodily 
decrepitude  of  old  age.  And  the  yugas  correspond 
very  closely  Avith  these.  The  law  of  analogy  holds 
good  here  almost  exactly,  the  reason  of  this  law  of 
analogy,  or  correspondence  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
being  the  ultimate  Law  of  Unity  which  imposes 
uniformity,  or  similarity  in  diversity,  on  all  the 
processes  of  nature.  This  law  of  analogy  is  clearly 
stated  in  a  verse  of  the  V.  Bhagavata  : 

As  is  the  organisation  of  the  small  man,  even 
such  is  the  organisation  of  the  large  man.1 

As  the  microcosm,  so  the  macrocosm.  As  above, 
so  below.  This  is  true  on  all  scales  ;  but  for  our 
present  purpose,  the  large  man  is  the  equivalent  of 
the  Human  Race. 

The  more  minute  the  details  of  duty,  the  more 
special  and  local  they  must  be.  This  is  shown  by 
Yajnavalkya's  verse,  at  the  very  outset  of  his  Smrti  : 

Listen  to  the  scheme  of  duties  which  have 
to  be  observed  in  that  region  of  the  earth  which 
is  the  natural  habitat  of  the  black  deer.  * 

The  neglect  or  deliberate  ignoring,  in  the  later  days, 
of  this  most  important  principle  of  all  law,  so  amply 
recognised  by  the  old  law-givers,  is  the  main  cause, 
and  also  the  effect,  by  action  and  reaction,  of  the 


XII.  xi.  9. 


58  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

disappearance  of  all  living  legislation ;  of  the  replace- 
ment of  the  spirit  by  the  letter  ;  of  assimilative  love 
by  exclusive  bigotry ;  of  the  healthful,  gradual  and 
normal  change  which  means  growing  life  by  the  rigid 
and  forced  monotony  which  means  ossification,  disease 
and  death. 

Enunciating,  therefore,  this  important  principle,  of 
adaptation  and  adjustment,  at  the  outset,  the  Insti- 
tutes (Samhita)  of  Manu  gives  a  very  brief  and  rapid 
sketch  of  cosmogony,  of  the  descent  of  Spirit  till  it 
reaches  manifestation  in  the  physical  plane,  the  gene- 
sis of  the  various  kingdoms  of  vegetables,  animals, 
men,  Gods,  Rshis,  and  of  time-cycles.  But  the  details 
must  be  gathered  from  the  Puranas  in  the  light  of 
Theosophical  literature. 

Out  of  all  these,  the  facts  most  relevant  to  our 
present  purpose  are  those  connected  with  the  changes 
of  psycho-physical  constitution  undergone  by  the 
human  race.  After  passing  through  enormous  periods 
of  time,  and  evolving  sensory  and  motor  organs,  and 
inner  and  outer  faculties,  on  various  globes  of  the 
physical  plane,  in  different  stages  of  substantiality, 
known  in  Samskrt  story  as  globes  of  the  physical 
plane  (dvipas  of  the  Bhu-loka),  through  Rounds 
and  Races  and  sub-races  and  still  more  minute  divi- 
sions, on  successive  and  separate  continents  and  sub- 
continents and  countries — indicated  in  the  Puranas 
by  the  seven  circlings  of  Priyavrata's  car  around 
the  globes,  and  by  the  septenates  of  divisions  and 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE     59 

sub-divisions  of  land  ruled  over  by  his  '  sons '  and 
'  grandsons ' } — after  all  this,  the  human  race  has 
arrived  at  the  globe  and  the  condition  of  substan- 
tiality of  this  earth. a 

And  we  are  now  in  the  reign  of  the  seventh 
Root-Round-Manu  Vaivasvata,  whose  personal  name 
is  Shraddha-deva,  while  our  immediate  Race-Manu 
is  the  fifth,  who  is  also  apparently  designated  by 
the  same  office-name  of  Vaivasvata.  a 

That  we  are  in  the  fourth  Round,  and  have  crossed 
beyond  the  middle  point  of  the  complete  cycle  of  the 
terrene  Chain,  and  also  of  the  greater  cycle  of  which 
the  terrene  Chain  is  the  fourth  or  middle  one,  seems 
to  be  indicated  by  the  Hindu  works  on  astronomy 

1  V  a  r  s  h  a  s,  k  h  a  n  d  a  s,  a  v  a  r  t  a  s,  with  other  septe- 
nates  of  the  sons  and  grandsons  of  Priyavrata,  and 
their  sons,  each  a  ruler  of  a  dvipa,  a  varsha,  a 
khan  da,  and  so  forth. 

*  The  Jambudvipa,    at  the    stage  of  the   Ilavrta- Varsha, 
the    Bharata-Khanda  and  the  Aryavarta,  or  the  Ring  or 
Race  of  the  Aryas,  who  are  also  called  Pancha-janah,  the 
fifth  people. 

*  Vide  The  Secret  Doctrine.      The  Manns  are  of  different 
grades.    Every  Round  has  a  Root-Manu  at  its  beginning, 
from  whom  all  Law  proceeds,  and  a  Seed-Manu  at  its  end, 
in  whom  all  results  are  embodied.    Hence  each  Round  has 
two  Manus,  and  is  hence  a  '  manvantara  '  '  between  (two) 
Manus  '.  On  each  globe,  through  which  the  evolutionary 
wave  passes — of  these  there  are  seven  in  a  Round — there 
is  a  minor  Manu  for  each  Root-Race.     As  three  Rounds  lie 
behind  us  and  we  are  now  half-way  through  the  fourth, 
there  have  been  three  Root-Manus  and  three  Seed-Manus 
for  these  three  Rounds,  and  we  are  now  under  the  fourth 


60  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

and  astrology  (  Jyotisha)  .  '  These  works  say  that  the 
present  age  is  the  first  quarter  of  the  fourth  age  (the 
Kaliyuga)  of  the  twenty-eighth  great  age  (Mahayuga) 
of  the  Vaivasvata  Round,  of  that  Day  of  the 
Creator  Brahma  which  is  known  as  the  '  White 
Boar  Period'  (Shveta-Varaha-Kalpa),  in  the  second 
half  (of  our  Brahma's  life-time). 

Having  thus  rapidly  brought  our  j  I  v  a  s  to  this 
earth-globe  and  evolved  them  to  the  human  stage, 
we  have  now,  in  order  to  understand  the  significance 
of  the  Laws  of  Manu,  to  take  a  brief  survey  of  the 
history  of  the  Human  Race  in  the  present  great  age. 
This  is  presented  in  detail  in  The  Secret  Doctrine,  but 
most  succinctly  and  clearly  in  The  Pedigree  of  Man, 
and  is  supported  by  more  or  less  veiled  statements  and 
allegories  scattered  throughout  the  Hindu  Itihasas 
and  Puranas.  The  forty-sixth  chapter  of  the  Mdr- 
kandeya  Pur  ana  gives  the  most  open  and  connected 
account  that  I  have  come  across.  From  all  these  it 
appears  that  humanity  was  ethereal  and  sexless  in  the 
beginning  •  then  more  substantial  and  bi-sexual  ;  then 
still  more  solid  and  different-sexed  ;  that  it  will  again 

Root-Manu,  or  the  seventh  in  succession.  On  our  own 
globe,  we  belong  to  the  fifth,  or  Aryan  Race,  and  so  are 
under  the  fifth  Race-Maiiu. 

1  The  verse   of  the  Bhagavad-Crita,  x.  6.,  H3N^:  *TH  ^ 
interpreted  in  two  ways,  one  of  which 


supports    the    statement   as  to  the   fourth  Round  :  in  it 
.;  is  regarded  as  an   adjective    of  Maims    and   ^  of 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE    61 

become  bi-sexual   and   less   substantial  ;    and,  finally, 

sexless  and  ethereal  again. 

In  Manu,  we  have  only  one  verse  to  indicate  this 

change  : 

Biuhma   divided   himself  into     two,     became 
man  with  one-half  and  woman  with  the  other.1 
The  Mffrkandeyfi   Purana  describes  this  first  stage 

or  Root-Race  of  Humanity  on  our  globe  in  the  present 

Round,  a  little  more  fully  : 

In  those  earliest  times  there  were  no  differ- 
ences of  seasons  ;  all  times  were  equally  temperate 
and  pleasant  ;  there  was  neither  heat  nor  cold  ; 
there  was  no  vegetation,  no  roots  and  fruits  and 
flowers;  the  nourishment  of  human  beings  was 
obtained  by  absorption  of  subtle  substances 
[osmosis  of  what  we  may  perhaps  call  ethers 
capable  of  being  indirectly  affected  by  mental 
effort];  sound  with  its  five  qualities  was  the  [one] 
sensation  ;  men  knew  no  differences  of  age,  but 
oozed  out  sexless  from  the  bodies  of  their  parents, 
full-grown,  and  without  any  deliberate  reproduct- 
ive desire  on  the  part  of  the  parents  ;  there  were 
no  distinctions  of  older  and  younger,  superior 
and  inferior,  between  them,  but  all  were  equal  ; 
no  tending  and  nurturing  and  bringing  up  of 
bodies  was  needed  ;  nor  any  sacraments  or  laws, 
for  all  behaved  towards  each  other  without  the 


:  M       i.  32. 


62  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOFHY 

excitements  of  loves   and   hates  ;    they   all  lived 
the  full  term  of  life,  four  thousand  years,  and 
their  bodies  were   incapable   of  being  destroyed 
by  disease     or    accidents  or  violence  of  natural 
elemental  forces  or  of  fellow-beings.  ' 
Then  came  the  second  double-sexed  stage  and  race, 
illustrated    by    the    stories     of    Ila-Sudyumna,     the 
mother-father  of  Pururava  ;  of  Rksha-raja,  the  mother- 
father  of  Vali  and  Sugriva,   and  many   others.     Cli- 
matic and  other    appurtenant  conditions  underwent 
a  parallel  change  also  : 

Solid  land  appeared  here  and  there,  not  every- 
where ;  lakes,  channels  and  mountains  formed  and 
separated  out  of  the  ocean  ;  the  beings  began  to 
live  in  and  on  these,  and  as  yet  made  no  houses  ; 
the  seasons  were  still  clement  and  there  was  no 
excess  of  heat  or  cold.  With  the  lapse  of  time,  a 


FPTT 


U 

%  I 
II 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE    63 

marvellous  power  (s  i  d  d  h  i)  came  to  them,  and 
their  nourishment  was  obtained  from  the  subtle 
aroma  of  the  waters,  by  the  power  or  function  call- 
ed osmosis  (r  a  s  o  1  1  a  s  a)  .  They  also  suffered  from 
no  violent  passions  and  were  always  cheerful  in 
mind.  But  towards  the  end,  they  began  to  know 
death  ;  and  the  peculiar  power  of  nourishment 
failed,  at  the  approach  of  death,  in  each  indivi- 
dual separately  ;  and  in  the  whole  race,  generally  . 
This  race  began  to  put  forth  pairs  of  different 
sexes  for  the  first  time  in  this  kalpa  or  round. 
At  the  end  of  their  lives,  when  about  to  die,  they 
put  forth  round,  egg-like  shapes  which  gradually 
developed  the  one  or  the  other  sex  predomi- 
nantly. * 

Then   comes  the  third  stage,    which   is   described 
thus  : 

When  the  powers  of  absorbing  nourishment 
from  the  subtle  aroma  of  the  waters  was  lost, 


ft 


n  u 

«  The    printed   text   has    MM^H,    which    gives    no   ap- 
propriate   sense. 

b  The    printed    text  has   ftgfT,  which  makes  no   sense. 


64  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

then  rain  fell  from  the  skies,  rain  of  liquids  not 
exactly  the  same  as  the  waters  of  to-day,  but 
milky.  And  from  that  rain  sprang  mind-creat- 
ed trees  (kalpa-vrk  s  ha  s),  which  served  the 
purpose  of  dwellings.  They  were  arboreal  houses. 
And  from  them  the  human  beings  of  that  stage, 
in  the  first  part  of  the  Treta-yuga,  derived  all 
the  other  simple  things  they  needed.  Gradually 
physical  love  appeared  amongst  them;  and 
progeny  became  physical,  with  periodic  and 
repeated  gestation.  Because  of  this  appearance 
of  grosser  desire  in  them,  the  mind-created  trees 
died  away,  and  other  kinds  of  trees  appeared,  in 
their  place,  with  four  straight  branches  each. 
From  these,  the  race  drew  such  food  and  apparel 
as  it  needed.  The  food  was  of  the  nature  of  H 
liquid  secretion  like  honey,  stored  in  pot-like  fruit, 
made  without  the  help  of  bees,  and  it  was  beau- 
tiful to  see  and  smell  and  taste,  and  greatly 
nourishing.  Then  avai'ice  grew  amongst  them. 


a  *jfo-*  yfacW  %^?  The  Brahma-  Pur  ana  and  the 
Matsya-Purdna  give  more  details  about  these,  in  de- 
scribing various  continents  (Varsha.s,.  The  Vishnu, 
Purana  gives  us  a  slightly  fuller  account  of  the  s  i  d  d  h  i  s 
referred  to  here.  The  current  verses  and  views  of 
Samskrt  lore,  as  regards  gfjJTiii,  ^^(,  etc.,  (ride  foot- 
note at  p.  27,  Lecture  I)  also  apply  to  the  successive 
human  races. 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE     65 

yet  more,  and  egoism,  and  the  sense  of  mine- 
ness  ;  and  the  trees  which  had  given  them  all 
they  needed,  dwelling,  food  and  raiment,  died 
out  because  of  that  sin  ;  and  the  pairs  of  heat 
and  cold,  and  hunger  and  thirst,  were  born 
amongst  the  people  ;  and  also  evil  men,  demons 
and  monsters,  serpents,  beasts,  birds  and  ferocious 
reptiles,  and  fishes  and  crawling  creatures,  some 
born  without  envelopes  and  some  through  eggs ; 
for  all  such  are  the  progeny  of  evil  thought  and 
sinful  deed.  Then  to  protect  themselves  from 
the  inclemencies  of  the  changeful  weather,  the 
people  began  to  make  the  first  artificial  dwellings ; 
and  villages,  towns  and  cities,  of  various  sizes, 
were  formed.  And  they  made  the  first  houses 
in  imitation  of  the  shapes  of  their  former  arbore- 
al dwellings.  And  they  also  began  to  work  for 
food.  But  the  industry  was  light.  The  min 
came  at  their  wish  and  prayer1  ;  and  it  collected 
in  hollows,  and  flowed  forth  in  the  low-lying 
channels,  making  lakes  and  rivers.  Then  a  new 
kind  of  vegetation  grew  up  ;  trees  bearing  various 
kinds  of  fruit  at  fixed  seasons  ;  and  wild  cereals 
of  fourteen  kinds.  They  grew  up  near  the  habi- 
tations as  well  as  in  the  forests,  not  requiring 
human  labor  to  plant  and  sow  and  grow,  but  only 
to  pluck  and  reap  and  store.  But  loves  and 

1  Praying  for  rain,   amongst   the  African  people,    and 
other  descendants  of  the  third  Root-Race,  is  a  memory  of 
those    times.     In    the   fifth,    it    became     more    elaborate, 
connected  with  superphysical  rituals  of  sacrifice. 
5 


66  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

hates  and  jealousies  and  mutual  hurting  increased 
yet   more   among  them,   and  the  stronger  took 
possession  of  the  trees  and  cereals,  excluding  the 
weaker ;    for  inequalities  of  mind  and  body  had 
appeai-ed  with  the  new  way  of  progenition  ;   and 
then  these  sources   of  laborless  food  failed  also. 
Then  they  prayed  to  Brahma  in  dire  distress  and 
He  made  the  earth,  the  great  mother  and  source 
of  all  nourishment,  take  shape   as  a  cow   (that 
is,  milch-animals  appeared)  and  Brahma  milked 
the   cow   and  taught   them   how  to  milk  it,  and 
various  cereals  and  plants  appeared  again.     But 
they  would  no  longer  grow  and  produce  fruit  of 
themselves,  as  before.     So  Brahma  perfected  the 
hands  of  the  people  and  taught  them  the  use  of 
the  hands,  and  the  ways  of  industry  and  agricul- 
ture and  horticulture,   how   to  grow  canes  and 
grasses  and  cereals  of  various  kinds.     And  thence- 
forwards  men  live   by   the  labor  of  their  hands. 
And  this  epoch  is  called  the  epoch  of  hand-power 
(hast  a-s  i  d  d  h  i) ,   as  the   preceding  ones  were 
those    of  tree-power   (v  a  r  k  s  h  i  -  s  i  d  d  h  i)   and 
osmosis-power  (r  a  s  o  1 1  a  s  a-s  i  d  d  h  i)  and  will- 
power (ich  chha-siddhi).  Since  that  time  food 
lias  to  be  earned  with  toil,  and  all  other  supplies 
have  to  be   won   by   industry.     After   teaching 
them  the  arts  of   trade   and  tillage   of  the  soil, 
Brahma     established     laws      and    conventions, 
differentiating  the  people  gradually,    more    and 
more,  into  castes   and  colors,  according  to  their 
different    capacities    and    tendencies.     And    he 


THE    WORLD-PKOCESS    AND   THB    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE    67 

divided  life  into  different  stages,  according  to  the 
conditions  newly  come  to  prevail,  of  the  birth, 
growth,  decay  and  death  of  bodies.  And  for 
each  caste  and  each  stage  he  assigned  appropriate 
duties."1 


FT 

»^     * 
?PT: 


?TT 


rjrar 

n 


II 

:  n 


rT?T' 

:  H 


l^lrfiiri  q 


68 


MANU    TN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 


Where  the  Markandeya  Purana  speaks  of  the 
Creator.  Brahma,  the  Vishnu-Bhagavata  mentions 
Prthu,  an  incarnation  (avatar  a)  of  Vishnu.  It 
says  that  Prthu  was  the  first  King  who  was  given  the 
name  of  Raj  a,  and  who  milked  the  cow,  and  levell- 
ed the  earth,  and  cultivated  it,  and  drew  corn  and 
other  foods  from  it,  and  also  minerals  and  precious 


M<4*i55,»TT  1*11  MHI'H.  U 

HI  <*!*<[*»  ^N^^L  I 
?TT  H^iifMW  H^flf  fflT  II 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE     69 

stones,   and   created  houses  and   towns,  for  the  first 

time,  in  the  history  of  the  race. 

At  the  birth  of  Prthu,  the  angels    (gandharvas) 

sang  : 

He  will  be  known  as  the  Raja  because  he  will 
rejoice  the  hearts  of  men  by  his  great  deeds.  .  . 
The  illustrious  son  of  Vena,  the  Lord  of  Powers, 
like  a  very  father  to  the  people,  provided  them 
with  food  when  they  were  hungry  and  taught 
them  how  to  milk  the  cow,  and  level  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  and  draw  from  it  the  cereals  ;  and 
he  constructed,  and  taught  them  to  construct, 
cattle-pens,  tents  and  houses,  villages,  towns 
and  cities,  and  market-places  and  forts  and 
strongholds  of  various  kinds  ;  and  also  how 
to  work  mines  and  quarry  stone.  Before  the 
time  of  Prthu,  these  things  did  not  exist  and 
the  people  dwelt  at  ease,  without  fear  and  danger 
of  any  kind,  here  and  there,  Avherever  they 
pleased.1 


.  xvi.  15. 


5  JHIHT 


:  II 
V.  xviii.  29  to  32. 


70 

Such  is  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  past  history-  of  the 
race  in  the  words  of  the  Puranas.1 

'Many  particulars  will  be  found  in  Vislimt-Purana  I.  vi. 
Wilson's  translation;  and  from  other  Puranas  may  be 
gathered  by  the  student  who  is  prepared  to  give  the 
necessary  time  and  labor,  many  details  about  the  third  and 
the  fourth  Races  and  even  much  larger  facts,  like  'Chains' 
and  '  Systems  '.  In  The  Pedigree  of  Han,  Mrs.  Besant  has 
identified  'Chains'  with  the  various  bodies  which  Brahma 
'  casts  off  '  from  time  to  time,  apparently  in  one  Day.  The 
Matsya-Purdna  describes  eighteen  '  days '  of  Brahma, 
seventeen  preceding  the  present.  Each  Purana  is  suppos- 
ed to  have  a  special  reference  to  the  minor  cycles  in  the 
present  chain  which  '  reflect '  the  great  '  days,'  respective- 
ly. The  weirdest,  and  most  exuberant  fancies  of  the  most 
romantic  story-writer  of  to-day  seem  to  be  anticipated  in 
the  Puranas,  as  having  been  actual  facts  at  some  stage  or 
other  of  the  many  races  and  sub-races  and  the  hundreds  of 
minor  ciA~ilisations  touched  upon  by  them.  The  gigantic 
bodies  and  changeful  forms  of  all  the  most  weird  and 
monstrous  kinds  of  the  earlier  races  of  Titans  ;  their 
peculiarity  of  substance  so  that  nothing  could  hurt  them, 
not  even  the  electric  forces  of  Inrb  a'.^  thunderbolt  as  in 
the  case  of  Namuchi  ;  the  grad-  •  mutton  of  size  and 

.solidification  of  substance  of  the  bou  .  I  ill  they  became  per- 
fectly adamantine  in  texture  and  invulnerable  to  weapons, 
so  that  even  the  discus  of  Vishnu  and  the  trident  of 
Shiva  and  the  will-force  of  Rshis  could  not  blast  them, 
or  cut  through  their  stiff  necks  or  pierce  their  hard  hearts, 
while  the  results  of  their  t  a  pa  s  lasted,  as  in  the  case  of 
Hiranyaksha  and  Hiranya-Kashipu  and  Havana  and 
Kumbhakarna  ;  the  rapid  growth  and  maturation  of  the 
Rakshasa-races,  as  in  the  case  of  Orhatotkacha ;  in- 
stantaneous conception,  birth  and  attainment  of  full  size, 
as  in  the  case  of  d  e  v  a  s  and  a  p  s  a  r  a  s  ;  budding  off  or 
oozing  off  in  sAveat,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Maitra-varunas, 
Vasishtha  and  Agastya  ;  the  intermarriages  of  the  Devas, 
the  Daityas.  the  Rakshasas  and  the  divine  Kings  of 
the  Solar  and  Lunar  dynasties,  as  in  the  case  of  the  im- 
mense family  of  Kashyapa,  of  Samvarana  with  TapatI,  of 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OP    LIFE     71 

As  to  the  future,  it  is  said,  briefly,  that  after  the 

Yayaji  with  Sharmishtha  and  Pevayani,  etc.,  etc. — 
all  these  are  to  be  found  in  the  Puranas.  A  great  war  of 
aeroplanes  is  described  in  the  Matsya-Purdna  in  connexion 
with  the  Tripura-war.  Another  type  of  civilisation  is 
described  for  the  days  of  Ravana,  in  the  Rdmdyana — and 
so  on.  It  is  obvious  that  a  work  which  aims  at  surveying 
the  whole  of  this  world-system's  history  from  beginning 
to  end,  to  deal  with  the  '  ten '  subjects  which  Puranas 
deal  with,  can  take  account  of  only  the  most  important 
events  and  types.  It  will  have  to  speak  of  globes  instead 
of  countries,  of  genera  instead  of  gab-noes,  of  races 
instead  of  individuals,  of  epochs  arid  cycles  in  place 
of  centuries  and  years  and  months.  This  is  what  the 
Puranas  do.  A  King  means  very  often  a  whole  Race 
and  Dynasty.  An  event  means  what  extended  over  a 
whole  civilisation  occupying  perhaps  thousands  of  years. 
In  this  way  only  may  the  Puranas  be  interpreted  usefully. 
To  Theosophists,  all  this  will  be  mere  repetition  of  what 
is  described  in  much  ampler  detail  and  more  lucidly  and 
connectedly  and  intelligibly,  in  The  Secret  Doctrine  and 
The  Pedigree  of  Man.  To  other's  it  may  have  the  interest  of 
novelty.  To  the  Theosophist  also,  it  may  be  a  satisfaction 
to  find  that  the  Purauas  give  the  outlines  of  the  history 
almost  in  the  same  words  as  are  used  in  The  Secret 
Doctrine ;  and  vice  versa,  to  many  Hindus  who  may  not 
have  had  the  opportunity  of  looking  into  the  Purauas,  it 
may  be  a  welcome  confirmation  of  Theosophical  doctrines. 
It  is  partly  for  this  reason  that  these  lengthy  extracts  have 
been  given.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  available  printed 
text  is  more  or  less  corrupt,  as  stated  by  the  editors  and  pub- 
lishers themselves  of  the  Bombay  edition  of  the  Mdrkandeya 
Pnrdna  ;  and  verses  and  chapters  have  become  disar- 
ranged and  thrown  out  of  their  oi'iginal  and  proper  order, 
while  other  parts  have  been  wholly  lost  or  withdrawn 
from  public  gaze  by  the  custodians  of  the  knowledge.  In 
making  the  extracts  and  the  translation,  I  have  there- 
fore had  to  make  some  very  slight  change  in  the  order  of 
the  verses,  in  two  or  three  places,  to  obtain  a  connected 
sense  out  of  them,  in  accordance  with  The  Secret  Doctrine. 


72  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

Dark  Age  (Kali-yuga)  is  over,  the  old  conditions  of  the 
Golden  Age  (Satya-yuga)  will  be  established  again. 
It  is  also  said  that  one  age  only  does  not  necessarily 
prevail  over  all  the  earth  at  a  time;  but  that  while 
one  age  is  regnant  in  one  part  of  and  amongst  one 
people,  another  may  be  holding  sway  in  another  part 
and  over  another  people — like  the  older  and  the 
younger  generation  existing  side  by  side,  or  like  many 
brothers  living  on  together  with  many  years'  difference 
between  them.  Putting  these  statements  together  we 
may  infer  that  what  is  meant  by  the  return  of  the 
Golden  Age  is  this,  that  humanity,  regarded  as  a 
whole,  will  tire  of  its  present  mood  of  intense  egoism 
and  sex- difference;  of  the  involved  loves  and  hates  and 
vehement  excitements  of  the  passions  ;  of  the  endless 
clash  of  opinion  against  opinion  and  pride  against 
pride ;  of  the  desperate  struggle  for  existence,  not 
only  for  the  necessaries  of  life,  but  for  power,  prestige 
and  luxuries ;  and  that,  so  tiring  of  it  all,  the  human 
racial  soul  will  gradually  withdraw  to  a  higher  level, 
to  the  bi-sexual  and  then  the  sexless  conditions,  and 
to  the  comparative  freedom  from  the  grosser  passions 
and  the  more  peaceful  joys  of  spiritual  love  and 
sympathy  and  co-operation  which  those  conditions 
mean,  before  merging  into  liberation  (moksha)  with 
the  closing  of  Brahma's,  i.e.,  our  Round-Manu's,  day 
of  wakefulness  and  work. 

In    the     setting   of   these   transformations   of   the 
human  race,  have  arisen  the  Laws  of  Manu  which  we 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE     73 

have  to  deal  with.  But,  before  taking  them  up,  it 
may  not  be  out  of  place  to  make  a  few  comments  on 
these  brief  historical  outlines,  as  they  have  to  be 
referred  to  over  and  over  again,  in  understanding  the 
reasons  for  those  laws. 

In  the  first  place  it  may  be  noted  that  there  is 
nothing  inherently  improbable  in  such  a  course  of 
transformations.  The  law  of  analogy  is  coming  to  be 
recognised  more  and  more  as  all-pervading,  even  by 
modern  science,  which  begins  to  see  that  atoms  are  as 
solar  systems,  and  that  the  life  of  a  single-celled 
animal  is  typical  of  all  life.  The  law  of  recapitulation, 
viz.,  that  every  individual  recapitulates  in  its  growth 
the  types  of  all  preceding  kingdoms  and  races,  is 
definitely  enunciated  by  evolutionist  science;  and  this 
law  is  based  on,  is  indeed  but  another  form  of,  the 
law  of  analogy.  If  there  be  any  truth  in  these  laws, 
then,  since  we  may  distinguish  these  stages  and 
transformations  in  the  life  of  a  single  human  being, 
we  may  well  infer  that  the  life  of  the  whole  race  will 
be  found  to  correspond.  The  infant  shows  the  stage 
of  sexlessness;  the  adolescent,  the  traces  of  both  ;  the 
grown-up,  of  difference ;  the  aging,  again  a  gradual 
effacement  of  difference ;  and  the  aged,  a  complete 
effacement.  Of  course,  at  present,  these  stages  are 
marked  more  psychologically  than  physiologically. 
But  the  analogy  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose  of 
establishing  a  prima  facie  likelihood. 


74  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP   THEOSOPHY 

Secondly,  the  need  to  refer  to  sex-difference  so 
prominently,  is  due  to  the  fact  that,  as  indicated  in 
the  extracts,  all  other  features  and  differentiations, 
psychological  and  physiological,  and  forms  of  social 
organisation  and  other  appurtenances,  depend  upon 
this  ;  and  changes  in  those  run  parallel  with  changes 
in  this.  The  purpose  of  all  this  evolution  and  involu- 
tion may  be  described,  in  one  way,  as  being,  first,  the 
growth  of  egoism,  and,  then,  the  transcendence  of 
it.  But  the  most  concrete  embodiment  of  this  idea 
is  the  accentuation,  and  then  the  blurring,  of  the 
sex-feeling.  On  these  again,  depend  the  nascence  and 
the  abeyance  of  all  the  other  passions  ;  and  on  them, 
in  turn,  all  the  other  endless  complications  of  life. 
Hence  the  prominence  given  to  it. 

In  the  third  place,  it  will  appear  to  many  that,  in 
the  extracts,  cause  and  effect  have  been  revei'sed.  It 
is  stated  that  physical  degenerations  and  changes  take 
place  in  their  natural  environments  because  of  psychic- 
al degenerations  and  changes  in  the  men ;  while  a 
thinker  of  to-day  would  deem  it  safer  to  say  that  the 
psychical  changes  took  place  because  of  the  physical 
changes.  Because  men  are  greedy  and  quarrelsome, 
therefore  the  rains  fail,  and  the  crops  do  not  grow 
and  famine  stalks  in  the  land — is  a  startling  way  of 
putting  things  to  the  modern  thinker.  To  him  it 
appears  more  reasonable  to  say  that  because  the  har- 
vest has  failed  and  there  is  a  shortage  of  food,  there- 
fore there  are  more  thefts  and  burglaries,  and  men 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE     75 

perforce  show  greed  and  selfishness,  and  endeavor  to 
snatch  the  crumbs  away  from  the  hands  of  their 
fellow-men. 

The  final  truth,  and  in  the  most  comprehensive 
sense,  is,  of  course,  the  truth  of  the  interdependence 
of  spirit  and  matter,  consciousness  and  vehicle ;  the 
truth  of  psycho-physical  parallelism,  that  changes  of 
one  series  of  phenomena  go  side  by  side  with  changes 
in  the  other  series ;  and  taking  the  total  of  time,  it  is 
impossible  to  say  which  precede  as  cause  and  which 
succeed  as  effect.  And  the  words  of  the  Vishnu 
Purano  approximate  to  this  view  more  closely, 
where  it  describes  the  same  stages  of  primeval 
human  history.  It  says  that  Vishnu,  on  the  one 
hand,  hardened  the  hearts  of  men,  and,  on  the 
other,  simultaneously  produced  the  changes  in  the 
natural  surroundings,  which  made  it  possible  for 
humanity  to  taste  in  full  the  experiences  connected 
with  the  spirit  of  Egoism,  so  that  it  might  return 
to  mutual  love  and  to  submission  to  the  Will  of 
the  Good  and  the  All-Merciful  with  a  fuller 
heart  and  mind.  But  if  we  mark  off  definitely  a 
number  of  events  as  making  up  a  cycle,  then  it  be- 
comes possible  to  say  whether  a  psychical  event 
stands  at  the  beginning,  or  a  physical  event,  each 
alternately  succeeding  event  being,  in  the  former  case 
psychical,  in  the  latter  physical.  Thus,  a  thought 
leads  to  an  action;  that  gives  rise  to  another  thought; 
that  leads  to  another  action  and  so  on.  Or,  an  action 


76  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

gives  rise  to  a  thought ;  that  leads  to  a  new   action ; 
that  gives  rise  to   another  thought,  and  so  on.     It  is 
thus  a  matter  of  temperament  and  of  selection  for  the 
purpose  in  hand,  whether  we  shall  begin  the   cycle 
which  we  wish  to  mark  out  for  study,  with  a  psychical 
event  or  a  physical  event.     The  ancients  most  clearly 
enunciated  the  absolute  truth  of  this  interdependence 
and  rotation,  for  metaphysical  purposes.     But  for  the 
empirical,  or  practical,  purposes  of  guiding  the  life  of 
a  world-system,  or  of  a  minute  individual  therein,  they 
begin  with  consciousness.     From  this  standpoint,  the 
material  arrangements  and  conditions  of  any  particular 
world-system,  or  planet,   or  department  of  it,  are  the 
product  of  the  will  and  the  consciousness  of  its  Ruler  ; 
even  as  a  house,  a  garden,  a  school-room  for  the  edu- 
cation of  his  children,  with  all  its  furniture  and  appli- 
ances, is  the   creation  of  its  proprietor's  will  and  con- 
sciousness. In  the  case  of  a  world,  at  least  one  purpose 
of  the  Logos  in  creating  its  conditions  is  to  make  them 
subserve  the  evolution  of  the  embodied  selves  with 
whom  He  is  dealing.    And  once  we  recognise  that  the 
arrangements  of  the  physical  world  are  the  product  of 
superphysical  forces,   we  may  well  go  on  to  say  that 
the  gifts  of  the  Gods  flow  forth  more  readily  when  the 
men  are  virtuous  and  loving  to  each  other  and  to  the 
Gods.     In   order  that  milk  may  flow  forth  in  abund- 
ance from  the  mother's  breast,  there  must  be  a  surge 
of  mother-love  in  her  and  of  tender  compassion  for 
the  helpless  baby.     And  this  will  be  when  the  baby 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE     77 

turns  to  her.  How  shall  it  flow  when  the  children 
quarrel  among  themselves  and  insult  her,  or  are 
grown-up  and  self-reliant,  and  do  not  care  for  her  any 
more  ?  Even  so  is  it  with  the  human  race  and  its 
great  mother,  the  Earth.  When  human  beings  multi- 
ply too  much  in  sin,  the  Earth  becomes  barren  by 
counterpoise,  to  maintain  the  balance  of  nature.  The 
corruption  of  the  emotional  and  the  astral  atmosphere 
by  the  masses  of  vicious  thought  and  feeling  super- 
physically  reacts  on  the  physical  atmosphere,  and  the 
clouds  and  the  rains  and  famines,  and  therefore 
plagues,  arise.1 

From  the  matter-of-fact  standpoint  of  modern 
politics  and  economics  also,  if  it  is  true  that  a  short- 
age of  supply  increases  the  intensity  of  competition 
in  the  demand,  it  is  also  true  that  if  the  producers 
are  weaker  than  the  non-producers,  and  deprive 
them  unjustly  by  force  and  cunning  of  the  produce  of 
their  labor,  leaving  them  not  even  a  living  minimum, 
then  they  will  surely  cease  to  labor  and  produce,  and 
will  swell  the  ranks  of  the  non-producei*s  of  various 
sorts,  till  gradually  the  whole  land  will  reel  back  into 
the  beast,  as  has  been  illustrated  repeatedly  even  in 
the  recent  history  of  the  nations.  It  is  also  admitted 
conversely  that  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  work 

1  See  the  story  of  the  demon  Karkatl,  the  cholera- 
microbe,  in  the  Yoga-Vuxishtha  and  of  the  monster 
Duhsaha-yakshma,  the  consumption-bacillus,  in  the  Mar- 
kandeya  Pvrtna. 


78  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP   THEOSOPHY 

of  the  cheerful  and  contented  workman  are  better 
than  those  of  the  morose,  the  sullen,  the  discontented. 
And,  finally,  it  is  recognised  that  it  is  not  the  natural 
needs  but  the  artificial  greeds  of  highly  intelligent 
speculators,  with  their  trusts  and  their  corners  and 
their  endless  devices  for  tempting  or  forcing  others  to 
their  ruin,  that  make  the  struggle  for  existence  so 
very  much  more  painful  than  it  would  otherwise  be. 
Indeed,  it  is  becoming  undisputed  that  the  present 
system  of  competition  in  the  over-production  and  over- 
acquisition  of  luxuries  is  the  cause  of  an  enormous 
wastage  of  all  kinds,  and  of  the  lack  of  necessaries  to 
large  masses  of  people.  Thus  even  matter-of-fact 
economics  ultimately  base  on  character  and  sentiments, 
and  do  not  altogether  contradict  and  disprove  the  old 
books. 

Fourthly,  as  to  the  other  details  about  the  super- 
physical  powers,  if  we  look  around  us  to  day,  we 
find  facts  which  answer  very  nearly  to  the  de- 
scriptions. The  vegetable  kingdom  and  the  lower 
forms  of  the  animal  kingdom  live  by  what  may 
be  called  the  osmosis-power  (rasollas  a-s  i  d  d  h  i). 
Thev  absorb  nourishment  from  the  surroundmsr 

•I 

elements  without  any  deliberate  effort.  The  large 
majority  of  animals,  and  men  also,  live  even  at  the 
present  day  by  what  may  well  be  said  to  be  nothing 
else  than  the  tree-power  (varkshi-siddhi);  a 
considerable  part  of  the  human  population  of  the 
earth  still  derives  all  its  requirements,  food  and 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE     79 

clothes  and  utensils  and  house-materials,  wholly  from 
various  kinds  of  plants;  to  say  nothing  of  the 
fact  that  the  most  important  part  of  human  nourish- 
ment is  air-breathing,  which  is  but  a  form  of 
rasollasa.  All  the  varieties  of  sex-conditions  and 
methods  of  propagation  too,  are  to  be  observed 
in  the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms  to-day.  It 
has  only  to  be  remembered  that  the  human 
beings  of  those  first  Races  were  very  different  in 
bodily  constitution  from  those  of  to-day,  though  the 
embodied  selves  were  the  same — as  is  shown,  for  in- 
stance, by  the  statement  that  Jaya  and  Vijaya  in- 
carnated as  Hiranyaksha  and  Hiranya-Kashipu  in  the 
earlier  races,  then  again  as  Ruvana  and  Kumbhakarna 
in  the  fourth  race,  and  finally  as  Shishupala  and 
Dantavuktra  in  the  Aryan.  And  because  their  bodily 
constitution  was  so  different,  therefore,  when  the 
Puranas  speak  of  their  food  and  drink  and  clothing 
and  dwellings  as  coming  from  the  trees  and  the 
waters,  they  do  not  mean  that  richly  cooked  viands, 
and  elaborately  prepared  liquors,  and  silks  and  satins 
and  woollens  and  brocades,  and  palaces  of  brick  and 
and  stone  and  marble,  came  out  direct  from  the  waters 
and  the  trees,  but  just  the  means  of  nourishment  and 
of  covering  up  their  bodies  and  of  escaping  from  the 
rigors  of  the  changing  climate. 

A  fifth  point  which  might  be  dwelt  upon,  is  that 
some  of  the  Pauranika  statements  confirm  the  Theo- 
sophical  view  that,  in  the  present  Bound,  the  lower 


80  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

kingdoms  have  descended  out  of  the  human,  though 
in  the  previous  Rounds  the  human  was  gradually 
developed  out  of  the  former. 

In  the  other  Puranas,  these  ideas  seem  to  be  indi- 
cated by  such  stories  as  that  of  the  primal  creations 
by  Rudra-Sthanu,  under  the  commands  of  Brahma, 
•vrhich  creations  (monads)  were  exact  copies  of  their 
Creator,  and  would  not  multiply  in  turn;  and  again  that 
of  the  Mohim-avatara  of  Vishnu,  during  the  period  of 
which  the  germs  of  life  that  emanated  from  Shiva 
became  the  minerals.  The  significance  of  such  stories 
seems  to  be  that  what  are  known  as  the  elemental 
kingdoms  in  Theosophic  literature,  are,  so  to  say, 
matured  and  live  their  life  within  the  body  of  God, 
just  as  the  seeds  of  a  planfc  have  a  slightly  separate 
life,  and  attain  maturity,  within  the  body  of  the 
parent-plant ;  and  that  when  they  appear  first  of  all 
on  the  physical  plane,  they  appear  as  the  mineral 
kingdom.  The  Vishnu-Bhayarata  indicates  that 
these  stories  belong  to  previous  maiivantaras,  or 
Rounds.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  present  or 
Vaivasvata  Round,  the  animal  kingdom  is  described 
as  born  from  the  different  wives  of  the  Rshi  Kashyapa, 
the  eldest  of  whom  is  Aditi,  which  is  also  a  name  for 
the  Earth,  and  all  of  whom  are  the  daughters  of 
Daksha,  who  has  taken  a  new  and  human  birth  as  a 
descendant  of  Vaivasvata  Mann. 

On  the  question  of  fact,  obviously  the  layman,  the 
non-expert  in  physical  and  superphysical  science,  is 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE     81 

not  competent  to  pass  any  opinion.  He  must  take 
his  facts  from  modern  science  and  ancient  scripture. 
But  reconciliation  between  the  two  does  not  seem  to 
be  impossible,  and  may  be  attempted,  even  by  the 
non-expert,  on  grounds  of  reason. 

On  the  one  hand,  we  have  the  view  of  the  fixity  of 
species,  as  indicated,  for  instance,  in  Manu's  verse  : 

As  the  Creator  fixed  primally,  such  is  the 
nature  of  each  creature  throughout  the  period 
of  manifestation,  and  appears  in  that  creature 
of  itself,  be  it  murderous  or  be  it  compassionate, 
gentle  or  harsh,  virtuous  or  vicious,  truthful 
or  deceptive.1 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  the  view  of  evolution, 
of  the  origin  of  species,  proclaimed  by  modern  science 
and  also  indicated  amply  in  ancient  literature,  and 
most  emphatically  in  respect  of  the  gradual  progress 
of  the  embodied  self  through  the  lower  to  the  higher 
stages,  till  it  arrives  at  the  human  stage,  when 
liberation  becomes  possible. 

And  the  third  question  is,  whether  there  has  been 
a  special  exception,  in  the  present  Round,  and  a 
reversal  of  the  normal  process,  so  that  lower  forms 
have  descended  out  of  higher. 

Some  slight  treatment  of  these  views  is  relevant 
here,  because  of  its  bearing  on  the  caste-question,  as 
will  be  pointed  out  later. 


29. 


82  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

Tke  reconciliation  of  all  these  views  seems  to  lie 
in  the  fact,  now  recognised  by  some  of  the  most 
prominent  evolutionists,  that  what  they  call  the 
primal  germ-plasm,  the  ancestral  germinal  cell,  the 
infinitesimal  biophore,  the  living  atom,  in  short,  has 
in  it  already  the  whole  of  the  infinite  possibilities  of 
spontaneous  variations  and  natural  selections  of 
forms,  i.e.,  definite  species  ;  but  that  the  unfolding 
of  these  possibilities  of  forms  is  successive,  i.e.,  by 
evolution.  This  is  in  exact  accord  with  the  ancient 
view  that  the  infinite  is  contained  in  the  infinitesimal, 
that  every  atom  contains  everything.1 

But  the  consciousness  of  Brahma  —  taking  the  name 
as  representative  of  any  ruling  consciousness  of  the 
requisite  grade  and  power  —  makes  limitations  of  time 
and  space,  and  decides  for  each  particular  germ-cell  of 
life  what  particular  form  it  shall  develop  and  manifest, 
for  what  period  of  time,  and  in  what  region  of  His 
system  —  somewhat  as  a  human  being  makes  pots  and 
pans  out  of  homogeneous  clay  and  decides  how  long  the 
clay  shall  stay  in  the  form  of  any  one  pot  or  pan,  and 
then  be  broken  up  and  fashioned  into  another.  It  is 
fairly  obvious  that  each  expression  of  countenance, 
each  gesture,  each  attitude  of  body  of  any  living 
creature,  embodies  a  mood  of  his  consciousness.  And 
if  photographs  were  taken  of  each  such  expression 


and    ^  q^r    ^3$f    and 


i  ftfe  I  and  so  on. 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OP    LIFE     83 

and  gesture,  and  could  be  animated  each  by  a 
separate  piece  of  vitality,  then  the  one  creature 
would  become  and  remain  so  many  different  crea- 
tures, till  the  photographs  faded  away.  Somewhat 
thus,  each  living  creature  may  be  regarded  as 
a  mood  of  Brahma's  consciousness.  The  Puranas 
say  so :  e.g.,  Brahma  was  wroth  on  a  certain 
occasion,  and  His  hair  slid  off  as  ever-angry 
serpents.  On  another,  He  shed  tears  of  sorrow  and 
vexation,  and  these  became  the  germs  of  dire 
diseases.  His  smiles  of  joy  became  the  Gods  and 
gladsome  fairies.  His  restlessness  and  moods  of 
activity  became  the  human  kingdom. 

That  poisonous  toxins  and  disease-germs  are  pro- 
duced by  painful  cerebral  f  unctionings  is  recognised  by 
modern  medicine.  And  researches  in  psychical  science 
show  that  thoughts  vitalised  by  surges  of  emotion 
take  forms  in  subtler  matter,  and  that,  if  the  emotion 
is  sufficiently  powerful,  they  may  become  more  densely 
material  and  even  visible  to  others.  What  wonder 
then  that  Brahma's  moods  should  take  living 
shape !  Further,  as  every  consciousness,  high  or 
low,  is  governed  by  the  eternal  law  of  rhythmic 
swing,  so  these  moods  and  manifestations  of 
Brahma's  mind  would  also  follow  a  definite  course ; 
they  would  proceed  gradually  from  the  sense 
of  unity  and  love  to  separateness  and  struggle ; 
and  then  back  again.  These  two  expressions  cover 
all  varieties  of  manifestation.  But — and  this  is 


84  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

the  point  of  the  reconciliation — we  may  trace  our 
cycle  from  any  point  we  please.  Also,  there 
are  other  cycles  running  at  the  same  time,  but 
at  different  stages,  from  different  standpoints,  and  on 
other,  but  connected,  planes.  We  may  trace  our  cycle 
from  unity  to  separateness  and  back  again ;  or  we 
can  trace  it  from  separateness  to  unity  and  back  again. 
We  may  count  the  complete  day  from  sunrise  to 
sunrise,  or  from  sunset  to  sunset,  or  from  midnight 
to  midnight,  or,  finally,  from  midday  to  midday.  And 
while  it  is  midday  in  one  place,  it  is  midnight,  or 
morning,  or  evening,  in  others.  In  one  sense,  the  in- 
fant progresses  into  the  man,  and  the  man  decays  into 
the  corpse.  This  is  true  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
body.  But  from  the  standpoint  of  the  Spirit,  it  would 
perhaps  be  truer  to  say  that  the  innocent  child  de- 
generates into  the  selfish  and  worldly-minded  man,  and 
the  man  of  the  world  refines  again  into  the  gentle  and 
peaceful  Sage. 

If  we  take  only  the  period  of  active  manifestation, 
the  day  of  Brahma,  as  a  complete  circle,  then  its 
first  half  makes  the  Path  of  Pursuit,  and  its  second,  the 
Path  of  Renunciation.  But  if  we  take  one  day  and 
one  night  as  making  a  complete  cycle,  then  from  the 
middle-point  of  mergence  to  the  middle-point  of 
emergence  or  manifestation  will  be  the  Path  of  Pursuit; 
and  from  the  middle-point  of  manifestation  to  the 
middle-point  of  mergence  again  will  be  the  Path  of 
Renunciation.  After  the  deepest  slumber  at  midnight, 


THE    WOKLD-PEOCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE     85 

there  will  be  a  nascent  tendency  towards  the  dawn 
and  waking,  even  during  mergence.  And  after  the 
climax  of  activity  at  the  middle  of  the  day,  there  will 
supervene  a  growing  inclination  to  rest,  though  half 
the  day  is  yet  to  run.  In  this  way  all  kinds  of  cycles 
and  sub-cycles  may  be  formed. 

And  it  may  well  be,  that  in  coming  up  along  the 
previous  Rounds,  the  embodied  selves  gradually  un- 
folded and  then  rolled  up  and  put  back  into  abeyance, 
but  still  within  themselves,  the  grosser  and  more  evil 
tendencies  that  make  for  dullness  and  hate  and  strug- 
gle, till  they  arrived  at  the  human  stage  ;  and  then,  in 
a  time  of  reaction  and  recrudescence  of  selfishness, 
corresponding  to  bodily  decay  and  disease  in  the 
individual,  they  have  let  loose  these  germs,  and  thus 
provided  the  material  sheathing  of  animal  forms 
through  which  new  and  younger  embodied  selves  will 
gradually  develop  and  progress  in  the  endless  course  of 
cycles — and  develop  and  progress  with  the  help  of  the 
present  human  selves,  giving  to  these  the  opportunity 
of  expiation  and  repayment  of  debt  by  becoming 
office-bearers  and  making  spiritual  progress  as  a  race, 
corresponding  to  the  spiritual  old  age  of  an  individual. 
In  this  way  is  kept  up  the  endless  stream  of  gener- 
ations of  selves  and  of  forms,  and  the  unceasing 
rotation  of  the  Wheel  of  Life  along  the  spokes  and 
tyre  of  which  they  evolve  and  involve. 


86  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF   THEOSOPHY 

As  Manu  says  : 

Countless  are  the  forms  which  issue  forth 
from  His  body,  and  provide  vehicles  of  active 
manifestation  for  individualised  selves,  high 
and  low,  old  and  young,  and  these  forms  are,  in 
turn,  kept  moving  by  these  selves.1 
And  an  Upanishat  says  : 

In  that  vast  wheel  of  Brahman,  which 
contains  and  nourishes  all,  the  h  a  m  s  a  s,  the  in- 
dividualised selves,  whirl  and  wander  cease- 
lessly, so  long  as  they  fancy  and  keep  themselves 
apart  from  the  Mover  at  the  centre  of  the 
wheel.  But  so  soon  as  they  realise  that  they  are 
one  with  It,  so  soon  do  they  attain  to  their-  in- 
herent immortality." 

Thus  far  the  history  of  the  human  race  as  given  in 
the  Puranas,  and  such  proof  of  its  correctness  as  may 
be  supplied  by  arguments  based  on  familiar  expe- 
rience and  analogy. 

From  these  outlines  of  the  racial  history,  it 
is  clear  that  for  the  first  two  stages  no  such 
laws  were  required  as  are  to  be  found  in  the 
current  Institutes  (Smrtis).  The  objects  of  the  two 
halves  of  life  were  realised  by  these  races  in- 
stinctively or  deliberately  in  a  very  simple  fashion, 


ii.  15. 


Shvefaskvafara,  i.  6. 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PKOBLKMS    OF    LIFE     87 

without  the  use  of  any  elaborate  regulations.  Equal- 
ity, fraternity  and  liberty,  in  their  crudest  physical 
sense,  were  not  merely  possible  as  ideals  then, 
but  were  actual,  and  indeed  inevitable,  among  people 
who  split  off  into  equal  halves,  one  from  another,  like 
amoeba?;  budded  off  from  the  full-grown,  like  hydrae; 
or  who,  dying  out  of  one  body,  immediately  put  forth 
and  flung  their  vitality  into  another,  like  bulbous 
plants,  as  indicated  in  the  Rakta-bija  stories  of  the 
Puranas. 

But,  towards  the  middle  and  end  of  the  third  stage, 
when  the  method  of  propagation  became  different, 
and  therefore  distinctions  arose  of  older  and  younger 
and  equal ;  when   physical   fraternity  was  superseded 
by  an  unignorable  paternity  and  maternity  and  filiety; 
physical  equality,  by  the  obtrusive  difference  between 
the  tiny  infant  and  the  full-grown  man ;  and  physical 
liberty  by  a  patent  helplessness  on  the  one  hand,  and, 
on   the  other,  an  inner  soul-compulsion  to  supply  not 
only  one's  own  but  the  helpless  dependents'  needs; 
when   loves  and   hates  supervened,  and  egoistic  mis- 
appropriations by  one  of  what  was  intended  for  many, 
defeated  the  primal,  simple  and  instinctive  socialism 
and  commonwealth — a  commonwealth  like  that  of  the 
non-ferocious  birds  and  animals  to-day ;  then  equal- 
ity,   fraternity    and    liberty    transferred    themselves 
from  the  physical  to  the   superphysical  planes ;  and 
equality  became  equality    of   right   to   maintenance 
of  body  and  education  of  mind;  fraternity  became 


88  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OV    THEOSOPHY 

brotherhood  of  soul ;  and  liberty  the  inner  liberty  of 
Spirit  which  is  ever  indefeasible  in  all  times  and 
places ;  and  then  laws  and  conventions  and  divisions 
of  labor  became  necessary,  and  divine  Kings  were  ap- 
pointed to  govern  men,  as  said  in  the  Yoga-  Vasishtha : 

Vasishtha  says  to  Rama  :  In  the  shoreless  im- 
mensity of  Brahman,  our  particular  Creator, 
Brahma,  arose  of  His  own  accord  a  vast  Centre 
of  Vibration,  as  a  wave  arises  amongst  countless 
waves  on  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  When, 
in  this  creation  of  His,  the  Golden  Age  came  to 
an  end — the  age  when  infant  humanity  simply 
moved  and  acted,  always,  and  as  bidden  by  the 
elders  of  the  race,  and  so  grew  towards  maturity 
— then,  because  the  growing  egoism  struggled 
with  the  old  innocent  obedience,  humanity  suffer- 
ed confusion,  as  does  the  child  passing  into  youth. 
Then  Brahma,  surveying  the  whole  plan  and 
history  of  His  creation,  past,  present  and  future, 
created  me,  and  stored  all  possible  kinds  of 
knowledge  in  my  mind,  and  sent  me  down  to 
earth  to  replace  the  ignorance  and  error  of  the 
childlike  race  with  education  and  truthful 
science.  And  as  I  was  sent,  so  were  other  Sages 
also  sent,  Narada  and  others,  all  under  the 
leadership  of  Sanat-Kumara.1  These  Sages  then 

1  Sanat-Kumara,  as  Skanda,  is  referred  to  in  the 
Chhdndogya  Upanishat  as  the  Final  Initiator  who  gives 
the  Taraka-Mantra,  the  secret  which  enables  the  j  I  v  a  to 
'  cross  over,'  and  is  thus  a  representative  of  Shiva,  whose 
son  he  is  (as  Skanda  or  Guha)  through  a  number  of  great 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE    89 

established  Kings  in  various  regions  of  the  earth, 
to  guide  the  perplexed  people,  and  formulated 
many  laws  and  sciences,  for  mutual  help  and  sacri- 
fice amongst  the  human  and  the  deva  kingdoms. 
They  framed  these  laws  and  sciences  out  of 
their  memory,  in  order  to  help  on  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  three  objects  of  the  life  of 
matter:  Duty,  Profit  and  Pleasure.  But  with 
the  further  lapse  of  time,  when  the  wish  for  food 
became  diurnal,  and  agricultural  labor  to  earn 
it  necessary,  then  feuds  and  rivalries  and  disturb- 
ances of  emotion  in  men,  and  oppositions  of  heat 
and  cold  and  wind  and  weather  in  nature,  arose 
concurrently,  and  Kings  became  unable  to  guide 
and  govern  their  peoples  without  wars  and 
struggles  with  enemies  outside  their  dominions, 
and  without  the  infliction  of  punishments  inside. 
And,  therefore,  both  rulers  and  ruled  suffered 
great  depression.  Then,  in  order  to  enhearten 
them  again,  and  cany  on  the  Creator's  plan  of 
evolution  to  its  fulfilment,  we  expounded,  to  the 
Kings  and  rulers,  the  wide-ranging  views  of  the 

beings,  Parvati  and  Agni  and  Gariga  and  six  Krttikas. 
Samba,  the  son  of  Krshna,  is  said  to  be  an  incarnation 
of  His,  or  over-shadowed  by  Him.  The  Secret  Doctrine 
speaks  of  Him  as  the  Great  Initiator,  or  the  Great  Being, 
the  leader  of  the  band  of  the  four  Kumaras,  forms 
of  Shiva,  who  sacrifice  themselves  for  the  sake  of  Earth's 
humanity,  and  come  over  from  Venus  in  her  last  Round, 
after  the  end  of  our  Krta-Yuga,  and  about  the  middle 
of  T  r  e  t  a,  the  time  of  the  third  Root-Race,  about 
eighteen  million  years  ago,  and  whose  bodies  are  created 
by  K  r  i  y  a-s  h  a  k  t  i ,  by  many  Lords  of  Wisdom. 


90  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

true  knowledge  (explaining  the  scheme  of  life, 
and  the  necessity  of  the  apparently  evil  stages, 
and  the  laws  wherewith  to  regulate  those  stages 
and  achieve  life's  ends  through  them).  Because 
this  Science  of  Life,  this  Science  of  the  Self 
(A  d  h  y  a  t  m  a-v  i  d  y  a)  was  first  expounded  to 
the  Kings,  therefore  it  came  to  be  known  as  the 
Royal  Science  and  the  Royal  Secret.  From  the 
Kings  it  filtered  out  into  the  subject-peoples. 
Knowing  it,  and  knowing  it  alone,  may  men,  be 
they  Kings  or  be  they  subjects,  attain  to  peace 
of  mind  and  do  their  duties  well. l 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE     91 

Maim  has  a  verse  which  has  a  similar  significance 
for  the  Theosophical  reader.  Svayambhuva,  the 
first  Manu,  is  approached  by  the  Rshis  for  instruc- 
tion. After  speaking  a  few  verses  to  them,  he 
says: 

All  this  Science  of  human  duties,  the  Rshi 
Bhrgu  will  explain  to  you  in  full.  He  learnt 
it  from  me  in  its  entirety.  ' 

And  thereafter  it  is  Bhrgu  who  recites  the  Institu- 
tes of  Manu  to  the  listeners. 

Bhrgu,  according  to  the  Puranas,  is  the  ancestor 
of  Venus,  Shukra,  and  we  are  told  by  H.  P.  B.,  in 
Tlie  Secret  Doctrine,  that  from  the  planet  Venus,  now 
in  its  last  or  seventh  Round,  perfected  Beings  came 
over  to  the  earth  at  about  the  middle  of  our  third 
Race,  to  guide  this  humanity.  Apparently,  highly 
advanced  as  well  as  younger  embodied  selves  have 
come  in  from  other  planets  also,  to  colonise  the 


:  Ttf  f^'*3rri  TrfT:  !!    II.  xi.  3-18. 
,  \.  59. 


92  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

earth  and  to  help  in  ruling  the  colonies,  as  is  indicat- 
ed by  the  stories  of  the  Solar  and  Lunar  Kings  and 
their  births  and  marriages,  and  of  the  various  classes' 
of  ancestors  (Pitrs),  who  are  the  sons  of  various  Sages' 
(Rshis)  connected  with  various  planets,  and  make  up 
the  bulk  of  our  population.  ! 

But  the  work  of  principal  Guides  and  Teachers 
was  taken  up  by  the  beings  from  Venus.  And  the 
laws  given  by  Bhrgu,  a  portion  of  which  seems  to 
be  embodied  in  the  current  rescensions  of  Manu-Smrti, 
are,  then,  the  laws  which  appertain  to  the  special  cir- 
cumstances of  the  human  race  during  the  epoch  of  hand- 
power  (hasta-siclclhi),  and  sex  -difference.  For  that 
epoch  the  '  caste  and  order  polity  '  (Varnashrama 
Dharma)  of  Manu2  as  declared  by  Bhrgu,  is  the  arche- 
type and  basis  of  all  systems  of  law,  of  all  the  nations 


s  ftrTCf 


II 

Manu,  iii.  194-201. 

2  The  division  of  Society  into  four  castes-  -teachers, 
warriors,  merchants,  manual  workers  —  and  of  the  indivi- 
dual life  into  four  orders  or  stages  —  student,  householder, 
server,  ascetic.  Varna  is,  literally,  color,  but  is  used  as 
the  equivalent  of  caste  also  ;  because,  it  would  seem, 
there  is  some  natural  correspondence  between  specific 
colors  of  astral  and  physical  bodies,  specific  tempera- 
ments, and  functional  types. 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF   LIFE    93 

and  civilisations  that  take  birth,  live  and  die  within 
that  epoch ;  and  which  they  all  must  follow  in  its  broad 
outlines,  however  much  they  may  differ  in  the  minuter 
details,  however  much  they  may  profess  to  supersede 
them,  however  much  they  may  annul  the  benefits  of 
them  by  working  them  in  the  wrong  spirit. 

In  order  to  understand  how  Manu's  Code  is  such 
archetype,  and  how,  when  modern  efforts  at  solving  a 
difficulty  fail,  we  may  perchance  derive  a  helpful  sug- 
gestion by  going  back  to  that  archetype,  it  is  desirable 
that  we  should  take  a  survey  of  the  main  problems 
that  vex  the  modern  mind.  These  are,  after  all,  not 
so  very  many,  that  is  to  say,  the  main  problems.  The 
minor  ones  are  countless.  But  the  important  ones, 
on  which  the  others  depend,  are  comparatively  few. 
And  they  have  been  the  same  for  thousands  of  years . 
The  words,  the  counters  of  thought,  the  language, 
have  altered  from  age  to  age.  Perhaps  the  aspects 
have  also  changed  slightly.  But  the  main  issues 
have  been  the  same,  age  after  age  and  country  after 
country.  At  the  present  day,  perhaps  some  millions 
of  tons  of  paper  and  ink  are  used  up  annually,  and 
an  incalculable  amount  of  energy  and  time  spent,  in 
the  putting  forth  of  thousands  upon  thousands  of 
journals,  magazines,  dailies,  weeklies,  books,  pamph- 
lets— all  perpetually  treading  the  mill  of  the  same 
score  or  two  of  questions,  and,  to  all  appearance, 
making  no  palpable  progress.  And  the  spirit  of  the 
bulk  of  such  reading  and  writing  is  the  spirit  of 


94  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT   OP   THKOSOPHY 

strife,  appropriate  to  the  Dark  Age;  the  spirit  of 
discordant  struggle,  and  mutual  irritation,  and 
scorn  and  belittlement  of  others  and  smart  dis- 
play of  self,  and  continuous  attack  and  defence ; 
the  spirit  which  effectually  makes  all  satisfactory 
solution  of  the  difficulties  impossible,  being  itself  the 
main  cause  of  these  difficulties.  And  it  is  not  confined 
to  the  young  and  the  excusable,  but  has  invaded  the 
legislative  halls  of  nations  and  the  minds  and  words 
of  aged  statesmen,  where  ar  least  should  ever  reign 
the  spirit  of  the  Golden  Age,  the  spirit  of  patriarchal 
anxiousness  for  the  good  of  the  people,  of  mutual 
recognition  of  good  motive,  of  sober  and  earnest 
discussion  with  the  one  object  of  finding  out  the 
best  way.  But  the  consolation,  in  what  would  other- 
wise appear  a  tremendous  waste  of  time  and  temper 
and  health  and  energy,  is  that,  perhaps,  in  this 
fashion,  the  race  may  be  rushed  more  quickly 
through  the  stage  of  egoism  and  aggressiveness ; 
that  it  may  learn  the  necessary  lesson  of  the 
evils  thereof,  in  a  widespread  if  somewhat  cursory 
education,  by  means  of  current  papers,  reaching 
almost  every  home  not  wholly  illiterate ;  and  learn 
it  in  a  shorter  time,  and  also  in  a  more  blood- 
less though  by  no  means  more  painless  fashion, 
than  in  the  immediate  past,  of  the  so-called 
mediaeval  ages,  of  East  and  West  alike.  Also,  the 
Theosophist  will  see  in  these  new  ways  and  means 
of  education,  the  promise  of  another  result,  in 


THE     WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OP   LIFE    95 

accordance  with  the  scheme  of  evolution  that  he  be- 
lieves in,  viz.,  the  quicker  development  of  the  subtler 
astral  and  causal  bodies,  by  the  intensified  exercise 
of  emotion  and  intellect  with  restraint  of  physical  vio- 
lence, the  proper  day  of  which  was  the  day  of  the 
fourth  Race. 

We  are  told  in  the  old  books  that  the  Dark  Age 
suffers  consumption  and  waste  of  vitality  because  of 
fast  living,  of  burning  the  candle  at  both  ends,  by  in- 
tensity of  sin  and  selfishness  as  well  as  of  the  inevita- 
bly corresponding  self-sacrifice  and  merit ;  and  that  the 
experiences  which  would  ordinarily  spread  out  over 
432,000  years,  might  by  this  process,  be  concen- 
trated into  much  less  than  that  long  time.  This 
is  in  accordance  with  the  immense  mental  and 
emotional  activity  of  the  age  and  the  neurasthenia 
which  is  its  characteristic  disease. 

Making  out  a  rough  list  of  these  problems  even  on 
the  basis  of  the  contents  of  current  journals,  we  see 
these  : 

1.  The  struggle  between  capital  and  labor,  between 
rich  and  poor,  looms  very  large.  How  to  abolish 
poverty;  to  secure  an  adequate  supply  of  necessaries 
for  every  individual ;  to  regulate  professions,  occupa- 
tions, industries,  factories,  means  of  livelihood  general- 
ly ;  to  make  impossible  the  perennial  dislocations  of 
social  routine  by  strikes,  riots,  rebellions  and  revolu- 
tions; to  keep  the  people  duly  alive,  in  short — this 
is  the  first  harassing  difficulty,  the  economical,  which 


96  MANU    IN    THK    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

is  playing  havoc  with  the  nervous  systems  of  so  many 
statesmen  and  administrators,  and  with  the  very  lives 
of  thousands,  nay,  millions,  of  the  poor. 

2.  How  to  assign  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  sexes ; 
make    domestic    life  happier;   and  how   to  regulate 
population,    i.e.,  maintain  a   due  proportion  between 
sources  of  production  of  necessaries  arid  the  consumers 
of  the  produce — this,  the  problem  of  sex  and  popu- 
lation,    is    intimately    connected     with    the    first   or 
economical  problem.     Competition  between  the  sexes, 
struggle  between  the  right  side  and  the  left  side  of 
the    same  body,    war   between    the    father    and    the 
mother,   would  be  a  horror    unheard  of,  were    it  not 
that  the  spirit  of  egoism,  pride,  appropriation,  begin- 
ning in  the  field  of  economics  ar»d    politics,  has  pene- 
trated  into  the    home,     in  accordance  with  nature's 
provision  that  excess  shall  defeat  itself  by  laying  the 
axe  to  its  own  roots  in  the  end. 

3.  How  to  prevent  disease,  secure  at  least  a  modicum 
of    health  and  physical   development  for  the  people, 
regulate  sanitation,   abolish  epidemics,  provide  for  a 
wholesome     disposal     of    refuse-matter,     avoid  over- 
crowding, minimise  intoxication — this  is  another  im- 
portant   set    of    the    worries    of   the  man.    in  office, 
whose     futile    strivings    with     them    are    the    joyful 
opportunities    for  trenchant  but  barren    leaders    and 
comments  of    his    sworn   adversaries    and    inappeas- 
able    critics,     the    occupants    of     the     editorial   and 
contributorial  chairs. 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND   THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE     97 

4.  What   to   do  in  the  matter   of  education,  whom 
to   teach,   whom  to  leave   alone ;  whether  to  make  it 
compulsory  for  all,  or  optional ;  make  it  free,  or  make 
it  expensive,  or  leave  it  to  the  individual's  means  and 
opportunities;  how   to   teach;  what    to  teach;  when 
and    how  far  to  generalise ;    when    and   how  far  to 
specialise  ;  how  far  to  make  it  literary,  how  far  scienti- 
fic,  how  far  technical,  mechanical,  industrial ;   what 
times  in    the  day  and  what  seasons  in  the  year  to  use 
for  the  purpose ;  to  teach   many  things  together,  day 
after  day,  or  few,  or    one  at   a  time ;    what   holidays 
to  observe,    whether    short    and     frequent,    or  long 
and   at   long  intervals  ;  whether  to    insist  on  instruc- 
tion in  religion   and  the  things  of  another   life   than 
the     physical,    instruction     in    manners    and  morals, 
in   graceful  ways    and    social    etiquette,    in   courtesy 
and    gentilesse,   or    whether    to   make  the  education 
wholly  secular    and   leave  every  child,    unless    pro- 
tected   by     some     special    and    fortunate    instinct, 
to  grow    up  in   the    notion    that    he    is    better   than 
everybody  else  and  owes  no  gratitude  to  his  elders 
and  no  debts   of  any  kind  to  the  social  and  natural 
organisation    and    environment  in    which  he    lives — 
this  is  another  set  of  difficulties,  acutely  exercising 
the  minds  of  literate  people  to-day. 

5.  Who   shall    hold    sovereign  power ;    who    shall 
exercise  authority  and  make  and  work  the  laws;  what 
is  the  best  form  of  government ;  autocratic,  democratic, 
or  midway  and  parliamentary  ;  monarchical,  republi- 

7 


98  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OV    THEOROFHY 

can,  or  bureaucratic;  plebeian,  aristocratic,  oligarchic  ; 
what  shall  be  the  mutual  relations  and  proportions 
of  the  various  departments  of  government,  civil  and 
ecclesiastical,  judicial  and  executive,  police  and 
military,  and  their  numerous  sub-divisions;  what 
shall  be  the  various  forms  of  taxation,  of  rais- 
ing the  income  of  the  State  and  lessening  its 
expenditure;  what  shall  be  the  diplomatic  methods 
of  maintaining  the  balance  of  power  between 
nations,  in  such  a  way  that  that  balance  shall 
always  be  strongly  inclined  in  favor  of  one's  own 
particular  nation;  how  shall  be  avoided  the  crushing 
burdens  of  militarism  which  are  nature's  readjustment 
of  that  inclination  of  the  balance — these  topics 
form  another  class  of  questions  which  are  the  prolific 
source  of  endless  heart-searching  and  heart-burning, 
blood-boiling  and  brain-wasting. 

6.  What  affairs  shall  be  dealt  with  officially  by  the 
government,  what  left  to  the  private  management  of 
the  people  ;  who  shall  own  the  land  and  to  what  ex- 
tent; in  whose  hands  and  how  far  shall  wealth  be 
allowed  to  accumulate ;  whether  the  State  shall  regu- 
late, on  the  basis  of  the  best  available  medical  and 
scientific  knowledge,  the  nature,  quality  and  quantity 
of  the  food  of  the  nation,  and  how  and  by  whom  it 
shall  be  produced,  or  whether  it  shall  be  left  to  the 
blind  gropings,  instincts,  mutual  imitations,  casual 
readings  and  chance  information,  and  the  momentary 
likes  and  dislikes  of  the  people;  whether  wise  men 


THE    WOKLD-VKOCES.S    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE     99 

and  experts  in  psychology  and  pathology,  who  are 
able  to  judge  temperaments,  and  mental,  moral  and 
physicjil  qualities,  shall  have  a  voice  in  the  making  of 
marriages,  and  in  the  assignment  of  vocations ;  or 
whether  these  shall  be  left  to  the  blind  chance  and 
blinder  competition  of  the  inclinations  of  the  moment 
of  each  individual — briefly  whether  the  national  or- 
ijcinisation  can  and  should  be  conducted  along  the 
lines  of  a  wise  and  benevolent  Socialism,  in  which  the 
government  shall  be  composed  of  elders,  or  whether 
the  general  level  of  character  is  as  yet  so  low,  and 
selfishness  and  aggressiveness  so  high,  that  it  must 
for  long  continue  to  be  let  run  in  the  rugged  grooves 
of  Individualism — these  are  other  problems,  which 
though  but  forms  of  those  included  in  the  before- 
mentioned  five  groups,  are  yet  acquiring  a  distinct 
^hape  of  their  own,  and  beginning  to  make  themselves 
felt,  at  first,  in  academical  writings,  and  then  in  a 
more  active  and  experimental  fashion  in  departments 
of  government. 

Along  the  lines  of  these  newest  shapes  of  the  pro- 
blems, and  the  experiments  connected  with  them, 
gradually  leading  on  to  a  more  equitable  division  of 
leisure  and  Avork,  pleasures  and  honors,  somewhat  like 
the  Manu's,  may  be  found  ultimately  the  satisfactory 
solution  of  the  whole  mass  of  difficulties — experiments, 
for  instance,  in  the  way  of  new  forms  of  taxation, 
tending  in  the  direction  of  a  more  even  distribution 
of  wealth ;  or  of  the  abolition  of  an  old  system  of  caste 


100  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

or  class  and  the  introduction  of  a  new  standard  of 
qualification  for  the  different  vocations.  Of  course, 
the  obvious  defect  and  danger  of  such  experiments  is 
that  they  introduce  a  sudden  change  in  one  part  of 
the  social  organisation,  but  make  no  provision  for  a 
concurrent  change  in  the  rest  of  the  parts.  If  great 
wealth  has  accumulated  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  how- 
ever unrighteously  they  may  have  gathered  it,  and  a 
large  number  of  dependents  have  gathered  round 
these  few,  even  though  they  may  be  engaged  in  non- 
productive labor ;  if  that  wealth  should  be  taken  away 
suddenly  from  those  few  and  no  provision  be  made  for 
those  dependents — who  also  are  part  of  the  people 
dnd  ought  to  be  provided  for,  though  employed  un- 
wisely for  the  time  being — then  the  sudden  change 
will  surely  lead  to  confusion  and  the  throwing  out  of 
gear  of  the  whole  system.  We  cannot  knock  off 
walls  and  pillars  and  arches,  here  and  there,  at  will, 
from  under  the  roofs  of  an  existing  and  mam'-storeyed 
building,  without  disaster.  If  we  are  tired  of  living 
in  it,  or  find  it  defective,  uncomfortable,  and  neces- 
sary to  change,  then  we  have  either  to  build  a  new 
one  from  the  foundations ;  or,  if  we  have  not  the  time 
and  cannot  afford  to  do  so,  then  at  the  least  we  must 
carefully  and  thoroughly  shore  up  and  support  all 
superincumbent  weights  before  we  make  any  altera- 
tions in  the  existing  supports.  Even  so,  a  radical 
change  from  Individualism  to  Socialism  and  Human- 
ism cannot  be  brought  about  at  one  stroke 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE  101 

and  in  a  single  day,  but  can  only  be  gradually 
secured  by  :  first  the  thorough  education  of  the 
whole  population,  rulers  and  ruled,  in  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  social  organisation,  according 
to  the  receptivity  of  each  individual ;  by  the 
consequent  change,  for  the  better,  in  the  general 
tone  and  spirit  of  each  to  all,  a  change  from 
the  wish  to  outrace  others  to  the  wish  to  carry 
others  along;  and  then  by  the  resultant  im- 
provement of  the  general  average  of  character — 
by  the  education  of  the  soul  of  the  nation  in 
short.  Then  only  will  become  healthily  possible 
a  redistribution  of  work  and  leisure,  a  new  division 
of  labor  and  the  proceeds  thereof,  in  such  a 
way  that  each  shall  make  the  best  and  most  of  his 
powers  and  take  the  least  of  personal  requirements, 
and  all  shall  be  comfortable  personally  and  all  own 
the  wealth  of  places  and  objects  of  leisure  and  pleasure 
jointly.  This  is  the  task  of  the  sixth  Race  of  the 
Theosophist.  Then  only  will  come  to  the  human  race 
that  gentle  epoch  which  is  referred  to  in  the  Puranas 
as  the  nation  of  the  'Uttara-kurus/  where  there  are 
no  Kings  and  no  laws,  but  all  are  equally  virtuous. 
This  is  the  state  of  the  seventh  Race,  the  last  on  our 
globe.  But,  in  the  meanwhile,  administrators  of 
human  affairs  and  those  whose  affairs  they  administer 
seem  likely  to  continue  to  work  for  long,  yet,  on  the 
principle  that  "  Enough  for  the  day  is  the  evil  there- 
of," and  not  trouble  themselves  about  ideals  and  deep- 


102  MANU    IN   THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

lying  causes.  What  one  observes  of  the  ways  of 
legislation  around  him  at  this  time  is  that  some  one 
public  worker  gets  firm  hold  of  some  one  particular 
grievance,  and,  oblivious  of  all  others,  hammers  away 
at  his  own  hobby,  secures  the  public  ear  by  dint  of 
perseverance,  and  worries  the  legislators,  till  they, 
some  hundreds  in  number,  tired  out  with  talking 
amongst  themselves  in  endless  repetition  of  a  few 
ideas,  in  many  variations  of  mutual  sarcasm  and  con- 
demnation and  imputation  of  motives,  not  having  the 
time  and  the  opportunity,  in  the  general  hurry  and 
hustle  and  speed-lust,  to  consider  the  bearings  of  the 
question  in  hand  on  other  questions,  not  having  even 
the  inclination  to  examine  it  in  the  light  of  that  gener- 
al survey  of  life  which  is  the  business  of  the  Science 
of  the  Self — pass  a  measure  which  perhaps  remedies 
the  particular  grievance,  but  creates  ten  new  ones. 

Does  the  Maim  of  our  Race,  or  His  representative, 
Bhrgu,  deal  with  these  problems,  and  are  his  methods 
any  better  ?  His  Code  of  Life  as  before  said  is  known 
as  the  Yarnashrama  Dharina.  There  are  four  stages 
(ashramas)  and  four  castes  (varuas),  appropriate  for 
the  fifth  Race.  The  names  of  these  two  sets  of  four 
and  the  names  of  the  two  paths  and  their  six  ends — 
these  sixteen  w.ords  exhaust  the  whole  of  this  Code 
of  Life,  and,  it  would  seem,  cover  all  the  problems  we 
have  mentioned,  with  their  sub-divisions,  and  some 
more  besides. 

How  thev  do  so  remains  to  be  studied.     First,  we 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AXI>    THE    I'HOBLF.MS    OF    LIFE  103 

have  to  look  at  the  problems  from  a  different  stand- 
point and  group  them  in  a  slightly  modified  form. 
The  different  standpoint  consists,  as  usual,  in  looking 
at  them  from  within  rather  than  from  without ;  from 
the  point  of  consciousness  and  its  unfolding  in  the 
material  vehicle,  rather  than  that  of  the  body  and  its 
external  surroundings,  lands,  territories,  possessions. 
And  whatever  change  in  classification  may  be  needed 
will  be  due  to  this  difference  of  point  of  view. 

1.  By    nature   of   his  psycho-physical  constitution, 
every  human  being  begins  life  as  an  individual  with  an 
increasingly  separative  sense  of  egoism.     This,  gener- 
ally  speaking,  grows  for,  and  attains  its  culmination 
at  the  end  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  normal  life-term. 
All  this  time  others  have  to  work  for  and  take  care 
of  him : 

He  whose  parents  are  living,  even  though  he 
be  sixty  years  of  age,  feeleth  as  light  and  free  of 
care  as  the  two-year  old  baby  crowing  and  roll- 
ing in  the  mother's  lap.1 

2.  Then,    because    of  that    same  constitution,    the 
individual  becomes  a  family  : 

The  man  is  not  the  man  alone,  but  his  wife 
and  children  also ;  the  whole  family  is  the 
extent  and  measure  of  the  man.3 


Mali  rilili  ilrata,   Sh antiparva . 
,  ix.  45. 


104  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP   THEO8OPHY 

He  now  begins,  in  turn,  to  think  for  others;  he 
finds,  with  growing  intensity  of  realisation,  that  he  is 
not  only  an  individual  among  individuals,  but  that  he 
is  also  a  family.  Yet  further,  he  realises,  consciously 
or  sub-consciously,  that  he  and  his  family  do  not 
stand  alone,  but  in  organic  interdependence  with 
other  individuals  and  families  ;  that  is  to  say,  that  he 
is  not  only  an  individual  and  a  family,  but  also  a  com- 
munity, a  society,  a  nation.  This  period,  also  roughly 
speaking,  lasts  another  quarter. 

3.  By  a  further  growth  along  these  lines,  he  finds 
that  his  nation  or  country  is  interdependent  with  many 
other  countries  and  nations ;  briefly  he  finds  out  that 
he  is  the  human  Race.  He  realises  that  the  network  of 
consciousness  of  the  racial  soul  really  includes  all 
individuals ;  that  as  a  fact,  every  human  being  is 
known  co  every  other,  directly  in  a  few  cases,  and 
indirectly  in  all  cases,  by  means  of  intermediate  indi- 
viduals ;  and  that  the  relationship  is  not  only  thus 
psychological,  but  that  if  the  ancestry  of  any  two 
individuals  could  be  traced  back  far  enough,  a  physi- 
cal relationship  would  also  be  discovered.  At  this 
point,  his  egoism,  the  range  of  his  self,  so  far  attached 
strongly  and  confined  to  his  own  and  his  family's 
bodies,  begins,  consciously  or  sub-consciously,  to  get 
rather  detached  from  these  and  widened  out  of  them, 
by  the  larger  outlooks  and  strivings  that  come  upon 
him: 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE  105 

"  This  one  is  my  countryman  ;  this  other  is 
a  stranger  "  —  so  thinks  the  man  of  narrow  mind 
and  heart.  The  noble  soul  regards  the  whole 
wide  world  as  kin.1 

Another  fourth  of  the  life-term  may  be  assigned  for 
this  stage. 

4.  Finally,  he  realises  consciously  or  unconsciously 
that  he  is  more  even  than  the  Race,  that  he  is  not  to 
be  restricted  and  bound  down  to  anything  limited, 
but  is  verily  the  Universal  Self,  and  so  must  pass  out 
of  all  limitations,  thus  coming  back  on  a  far  higher 
level,  along  the  spiral  of  life,  to  the  first  stage  and 
then  the  point  from  which  he  started.  The  last 
quarter  of  the  life-  term  belongs  to  this  stage: 

He  who  beholdeth  the  Self  in  all,  and  all  in 
the  Self,  he  becometh  all  and  eiitereth  into 
B  r  a  h  ni  a  n.' 

These  are,  psychologically  and  universally,  the  four 
'  orders,'  or  life-stages,  of  M  anu. 

1.  The  problems  connected  with  the  best  and  most 
perfect  accomplishment  of  the  first  quarter  of  life,  in 
its  relation  to  and  as  preparation  for  the  other  three  — 
are  the  problems  of  education,  in  all  its  departments, 
Pedagogics  in  the  most  comprehensive  sense.  They 
belong  to  the  Student-Order  (Brahmachari  ashrama)> 
and  are  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  teaching  caste  or 
class  (Brahmana)  principally. 


II   Mann,  xii.  125. 


106  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

2.  Those    connected  with  the  fulfilling  of  the  needs 
of  the  second  quarter,  are  the  problems  of  domesticity, 
population  and   sanitation ;    and,    as    subservient   to 
these,  all  questions  of  Economics.    They  belong  to  the 
Householder-Order  (Grhastha  ashrama)  and  are  to  be 
dealt   with  by  the   merchant  caste  or  class  (Yaishya) 
principally. 

3.  Those    connected   with    the  third   quarter    may, 
from    one  standpoint,    be  said  to   be  the  problems  of 
administration    and    forms    of    Government.      They 
belong  to  the  Service   Order    (Yanaprastha  ashrama) 
and  are  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  warrior  caste  or  class 
(Kshattriya)  principally. 

4.  Those  connected  Avith  the  fourth  and  last  quarter 
of  life,  are  the  problems   of  Religion    in    the    sen.se 
of  superphysical  developments  and  experiences,    and 
ultimately    of    the     life    of    spirituality    proper,    i.e. 
pure  renunciation  even  of  the  superphysical    (which 
are  yet  material)   powers  and  possessions.     Modern 
ecclesiastical     questions     are      faint     and    distorted 
reflexions   of    what    these     are    in    their    reality,    as 
dealt   with   by    the    Hierarchy    of  Manus   and  Rshis 
which  guides   human  evolution.    They  belong  to  the 
Ascetic   Order    (Sannyasa   ashrama)    and  are    to  be 
dealt  with  by  all  those  of  the  three  twice-born  castes 
or  classes  who  develop  sufficiently  to  be  able  to  take 
the  third  birth  of  Initiation  into  the  High   Mysteries 
(Yajfia-cliksha).      The  manual-labor   caste    (Shudra) 
subserves  the  physical  side  of  all  these. 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AXM    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE  107 

Thus,  for  Manu,  all  human  affairs  become  grouped 
under  the  four  Orders  and  the  four  Castes  : 

"  The  four  ashramas  are  those  of  the  student, 
the  householder,  the  forest  dweller  and  the 
ascetic  who  has  renounced  the  world.  And 
all  these  four  arise  from  the  householder  ; 
(that  is  to  say,  from  the  peculiar  sex-constitution 
of  present-day  man).  And 

The    four  castes   are  the  three  sub-divisions 
of  the   twice-born,    viz.,   Teacher,  "Warrior,  and 
Merchant,    and    the  once-born  Laborer   (Brah- 
mana.    Kshattriya.    Vaishya    and  Shudra)  ;  and 
there  is  indeed  no  fifth  anywhere."  * 
That  is  to  say,  all  men,  all  over  the  earth,  naturally 
fall  into  one  or  other  of  these  four,  according  to  their 
inner    and    outer    characteristics.     And    these   four 
castes  also  may  be  said  to  arise  out  of  the  household 
(as  all  the  organs  and  functions  of  the  body  evolve 
out  of  the  heart  and   remerge  into  it),  for  they  are 
differentiated  by  difference  of  function,  occupation  or 
vocation  ;   and  all   vocations  are   subservient   to  the 
upkeep    of   the   household  : 

Because  he  nourishes  aud  supports  the  other 
ashraiuas  (of  all  the  castes)  with  food  for  body 
and  for  mind,  therefore  he  occupies  the  position 
of  the  eldest.  2 


I'       Maun,  vi.  87. 
-3M4:  I 
?l?t  HlfW  ^  T^T:  H     Ibid,  x.  4. 


II    THJ.  iii.  78. 


108  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Of  course  the  divisions  of  functions  between  the 
Orders,  as  between  the  Castes,  cannot  be  made  very 
hard  and  fast.  There  are  no  hard  and  fast  divisions 
anywhere  in  nature.  Everything  overlaps  and  merg- 
es into  its  surroundings,  by  means  of  fringes  of  vary- 
ing depth,  and  in  impalpable  gradations.  The  second 
and  third  Orders,  especially,  have  a  tendency  to 
run  into  one,  so  much  so  that  the  forest-dweller, 
(Vanaprastha)  is  not  to  be  seen  in  India,  now,  as  a 
specific  type,  distinguishable,  on  the  one  hand,  from 
the  householder  who  has  not  ceased  to  live  with  his 
children  but  has  retired  from  the  competitions  of 
personal  life  and  begun  to  busy  himself  with  public 
affairs ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  from  the  Sannyas! 
who  has  definitely  given  up  the  world.  But  the 
underlying  idea  of  the  stage,  viz.,  sacrifice,  or  service 
in  the  widest  sense,  may  well  be  recognised  in  the 
genuine  honorary  public  workers  of  to-day,  and  the 
more  a  nation  has  of  such,  the  more  fortunate  it  may 
be  counted.  The  form  of  sacrifice  was  different  in 
the  older  day,  but  the  essence  is  the  same. 

The  four  castes,  in  a  sense,  go  over,  in 
separate  lives,  the  same  ground  as  the  orders 
(ashramas)  do  in  the  same  life  respectively.  The 
castes  subserve  the  orders ;  that  is  to  say,  they  make 
it  possible  for  all  human  beings  to  pass  through  the 
appropriate  experiences  of  all  those  stages  of  life,  and 
achieve  all  life's  ends,  consecutively,  evenly  and  most 
fully,  without  disturbance  and  confusion.  And  they 


THE    WOKLD-PKOCESS    A\L>    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE 

also  repeat,  respectively,  the  characteristic  features  of 
those  stages  of  life  and  of  those  parts  of  the  human 
physical  constitution  to  which  they  correspond,  and 
side  by  side  with  which  they  have  developed  in  the 
history  of  the  race.  As  we  have  seen,  in  the  earliest 
stages,  when  the  psycho-physical  constitution  was 
different,  the  castes  did  not  exist.  There  was  not  such 
a  definition  of  parts,  head  and  trunk  arid  limbs,  in  the 
human  body,  then,  as  has  grown  up  since.  With  the 
growth  of  heterogeneity  in  the  body  and  the  mind  of 
the  individual  by  differentiations  of  organs  and  func- 
tions, there  grew  up,  side  by  side,  heterogeneity  in  the 
functions  of  groups  of  individuals,  a  division  of  labor, 
an  organisation  in  Society.  In  the  course  of  time,  the 
Brahmana  caste,  corresponding  to  the  head,  came  to 
be  entrusted,  principally,  with  all  educational  mat- 
ters ;  the  Kshattriya,  corresponding  to  the  arms,  with 
those  of  war,  politics,  government  and  public  work ; 
the  Yaishya,  corresponding  to  the  trunk  and  its 
organs,  with  all  affairs  of  trade  and  industry;  and  the 
Sliudra,  corresponding  to  the  feet,  became  veritably 
the  supporting  pedestal  of  all.  Without  the  Shudra's 
help  and  service,  the  daily  routine  of  their  life-duties 
would  be  impossible  for  all  the  others.  He  is  the 
reversed  reflexion  of  the  Samiyasi.  The  SannyasI  has 
merged  his  egoism,  his  smaller  self,  in  the  Universal 
Self,  and  has  so  become  a  well-wisher,  a  servant  of  all, 
on  the  higher  planes.  The  Shudra  is  the  servant  of 
all  on  the  physical  plane,  because  he  has  not  yet 


110  MANU     I\     THK     l.UJHT    OF    THEOSulHY 

developed  egoism  out  of  the  Universal  Self,  of  which  he 
also  is  an  undeniable  part,  though  as  yet  unconsciously. 

In  terms  of  the  ends  of  life,  it  is  obvious  that  while 
each  order  is  a  preparation  for  the  next,  the  first  two 
are  chiefly  devoted  to  duty,  profit  and  pleasure;  and  the 
last  two  aim  at  universal  love,  and  service  of  all  with 
all  kinds  of  powers,  and  mergence  of  the  sense  of 
separateness  to  the  deepest  possible  degree  in  the 
Great  Unity  of  all  Life  and  Consciousness. 

From  another  standpoint,  it  may  be  said  that 
d  harm  a  belongs  to  all  the  twice-born  castes  in  the 
form  of  sacrifice,  charity,  and  study,  but  is  especially 
in  the  keeping  of  the  student  (Brahmachari)  and 
the  Brahmana;  that  pleasure  and  the  due  disposal 
of  wealth  belong  chiefly  to  the  householder  and 
sacrificer  (Grhastha  and  Yanaprastha),  and  the 
Vaishya  and  Kshattriya  ;  and  that  liberation  again 
belongs  to  all  the  twice-born,  but  is  especially  in 
the  keeping  of  the  true  thrice-born  and  the  ascetic 
(Sannyasi).  To  those  not  born  a  second  time 
belongs  chiefly  the  d  h  a  r  m  a  of  helping  all  the  others 
and  the  pleasure  and  wealth  of  the  household  Order 
mainly.  From  yet  another  standpoint,  pleasure  be- 
longs to  the  first,  wealth  to  the  second,  duty  to  the 
third,  and  liberation  to  the  fourth  quarter  of  life. 

Such  is  the  V  a  r  n  a  s  h  r  a  m  a  D  h  a  r  m  a  of  Mann, 
so  named  because  it  gathers  the  whole  Code  of  Life 
under  these  eight  heads,  which  endeavors  to  hold  to- 
gether all  His  progeny,  and  not  only  the  human  king- 


THE    WORLD-PROCKSS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE  111 

dom,  but  the  other  kingdoms  also,  so  far  as  may  be, 
in  the  bonds  of  soul-brotherhood,  of  mutual  love  and 
helpfulness,  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  practical  socialism 
of  the  joint  human  family,  by  the  positive  means  of 
ready  and  willing  sacrifice  for  each  other,  of  constant 
charitableness,  and  of  unceasing  endeavor  to  increase 
the  stores  of  knowledge  ;  and  by  the  negative  means 
of  avoidance  of  cruelty,  untruth,  greed  for  posses- 
sions, and  all  impurities  and  sensuousness. 

Harnilessuess,  truthfulness,  honesty,  cleanli- 
ness, sense-control  —  this,  in  brief,  is  declared  by 
Mumi  to  be  the  duty  of  all  four  castes. 

Patience,  forgiveness,  self-control,  probity, 
purity,  self-i-estraint,  reasonableness,  learning, 
truth,  freedom  from  anger  —  these  ten  are  the 
marks  of  duty.  By  all  the  four  Orders  of  all  the 
twice-born  should  this  tenfold  d  h  a  r  m  a  be 
served  and  followed  diligently.1 

Before  proceeding  to  deal  with  Manu's  solutions 
of  these  problems,  a  few  words  may  be  said  regarding 
the  significance  of  some  of  the  more  important  terms 
used  in  the  work.  The  spirit  in  which  the  whole  is 
best  studied  was  discussed  at  our  last  meeting. 


,  x.  63;  vi.  92,  91. 


112  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

The  word  D  h  a  r  m  a  is  used  in  two  senses,  a 
narrower  and  a  wider.  In  the  former,  it  is  one- 
third  of  the  object  of  the  Path  of  Pursuit.  In  the 
other  it  is  the  whole  duty  of  the  embodied  self,  and 
comprehends  the  whole  of  his  everlasting  life,  in 
the  physical  as  well  as  the  superphysical  worlds. 
But  the  difference  is  one  of  degree  only,  for  the 
larger  includes  the  smaller. 

The  basis  of  this  I)  h  a  r  m  a,  i.e.,  the  source  of  our 
conviction  of  its  authenticity  and  authority  is,  as  said 
before,  the  Veda,  Knowledge.  True  knowledge  only 
can  be  the  basis  of  right  action.  A  further  expansion 
of  this  principle,  that  a  perfect  scheme  of  duty  can  be 
founded  only  on  perfect  wisdom,  is  contained  in  a  few 
verses  of  Manu  : 

The  root  of   D  h  a  r  m  a  is    (i)    the   whole   of 
knowledge  ;  and  (ii)  the  memory,  and  then  (iii) 
the  conduct  based  thereon,  of  those  who  know- 
that  knowledge;  and  finally,  (iv)  it  is  the  satis- 
faction of  the  Inner  Self  of  each,  his  conscience.1 
(i)  That  Perfect  Knowledge  of  the  Whole  which  is 
simultaneous  omniscience  of  the  past,  the  present  and 
the  future,  in  the  mind  of  Brahma  —  who  is  therefore  the 
primal     source    of    the    Veda,    because    indeed   His 


^TfHT 


II 
Manu,  ii.  6,  12. 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OP   LIFE  113 

knowledge  of  His  world-system  is  His  ideation  of 
them,  and  His  ideation  of  them  is  His  creation  of  them 
— somewhat  in  the  same  way  as  the  complete-conscious- 
ness of  the  author  of  a  story  is  the  substratum  and  sole 
source  of  all  the  part-consciousnesses,  all  the  thinkings 
and  doings,  of  all  the  characters  of  the  story  ;  that  per- 
fect knowledge,  for  the  embodied  selves  who  came  into 
His  system,  becomes  successive.  It  unfolds  first  as  (i) 
sen.se-perceptions,  then  as  (ii)  memory,  with  expectation 
and  i-easoning  based  thereon,  then  (iii)  conduct  based 
on  expectation — all  checked  and  governed  by  the 
constant  (iv)  supervision  and  sanction  of  the  Inner 
Self  hidden  in  all.  For,  after  all,  if  any,  the  most 
ignorant,  should  believe  that  another  is  omniscient 
and  therefore  should  treat  his  lightest  word  as  reve- 
lation, still  the  decision  to  hold  that  belief  and  offer 
that  reverence  is  the  decision  of  that  otherwise  ig- 
norant souPs  own  inner  or  higher  Self  (the  Pratyag- 
atma  within  him),  which  is  omniscient,  too,  and  works 
sub-consciously  within  the  sheathing  of  that  soul 
and  manifests  outside  as  the  unthinking  trust  and 
reverence. 

From  a  different  standpoint  these  four :  (i)  Know- 
ledge, (ii)  Tradition,  (iii)  Precedent,  (iv)  Conscience, 
may  be  said  to  correspond  to  what  in  modern  juris- 
prudence would  be  called  :  (i)  the  word  of  the  statute, 
(ii)  immemorial  custom,  (iii)  case-law  and  precedent, 
and,  finally,  (iv)  equity  and  good  conscience.  The 
word  of  the  statute  here  is  the  word  of  the  Veda, 

8 


114  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Knowledge  so  far  as  it  has  been  embodied  and  ex- 
pressed in  sound  : 

The  Veda  is  Shruti,  and  derivative  works  on 
D  harm  a  are  Smrti.  ' 
As  the  Matsya  Purana  (ch.  145)  says  : 

The  seven  Rshis,   hearing   and  learning  from 
their  Elders  in  turn,  spoke  out  and  revealed  the 
truths  embodied  in   the  mantras  of  the   Rk,  the 
Yajush   and   the  Suma,  which  are  verily  as  the 
limbs   of  Brahma,   the  Expander  and  Creator  of 
these  worlds,  who  expanded  and  created  them  at 
first    in    terms    of  thought   as   sound    (Shabda- 
Brahman)  out  of  the  immensity  of  Brahman,  the 
vast  Principle  of  All-consciousness.2 
The  original  embodiment  and  expression  of  know- 
ledge  and  thought   and  ideation  is  in  terms  of  sound 
and  'ether/  the  first  to  manifest  in  the  history  of  the 
human  race,  and  possessed  of  potencies  out  of  and  by 
which  all  other  forms  ard  forces  have  been  evolved 
subsequently  and  successively. 


f?  ftat  n 

Manu,  ii.  10. 


a  One  reading  is  *flHJWi  instead  of 
would  mean  "  to  be  carefully  examined  and  construed  in 
accordance  with  the  rules  of  the  Mimamsa".  3T4Ni*3(  is 
generally  explained  as  meaning  "  not  to  be  slighted  and 
lightly  doubted." 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE  1  1  5 

Mann's  promise  is  that  : 

He  who  discharges  his  duties  in  accordance 
with  this  perfect  knowledge  and  the  memory 
based  thereon  —  he  shall  achieve  good  name  here 
:'.nd  happiness  hereafti-r.' 

For  there  is  an  essential  connexion  between  the 
TWO,  and  happiness  hereafter  is  principally  of  the 
mental  plane  and  depends  upon  the  satisfaction  of 
mind  given  to  fellow-beings  on  the  physical  plane. 
Manu  does  not  say  "  happiness  here,  always  "  —  for 
the  path  of  duty  is  often  very  hard  to  tread  on 
earth,  when  the  majority  are  not  willing  to  walk  upon 
it  side  by  side. 

And  Mann's  injunction  is  that  : 

These  two  sources  of  1)  harm  a,  knowledge  and 
memory,  revelation  and  law,  should  not  be 
rejected  lightly,  but  always  examined  and 
considered  carefully  in  accordance  with  the  rules 
of  the  M  imams  a,  the  science  of  exegesis,  in  all 
matters  of  duty  ;  and  he  who  flouts  these  two 
foundations  of  all  life  and  duty  should  be 
excluded  from  the  counsels  of  the  good,  and  that 
for  the  good  of  all,  for  he  would  bring  about 
general  confusion  and  annihilation.2 


Maitu,  ii.  9. 


,  ii.  11. 


116  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

The  reason  of  the  injunction  becomes  clear  if  we 
interpret  Veda  and  Smrti  in  their  original,  etymologi- 
cal and  comprehensive  sense,  viz.,  consciousness  and 
memory.  These  are  obviously  the  foundations  of  all 
life,  and  he  who  will  not  accept  them  as  such  cannot 
be  treated  otherwise  than  as  madman  and  nihilist,  to 
be  carefully  excluded  from  all  deliberations  which 
seek  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  community. 
Manu  says  further  that  : 

The  appropriateness  of  all  injunctions  by 
the  Rshis  as  to  duty  should  be  carefully  ascer- 
tained by  means  of  the  reasoning  that  does  not 
ignore  observative  knowledge  and  memory,  but 
is  consistent  with  and  based  on  them  —  for  only  he 
who  so  applies  his  reason  (not  in  the  spirit  of  flip- 
pancy, but  of  an  earnest  wish  to  find  and  understand 
the  truth,  and  observes  the  not  very  arduous 
courtesy  of  listening  with  common  respect  to  the 
opinions  of  the  elders  who  have  had  more 
experience,  and  listens  not  for  blind  acceptance, 
but  for  careful  pondering,  he  only)  really  kno\vs 
the  Dharma,  and  none  other.1 

Thus  interpreted,  none  could  seriously  contest  the 
foundations  of  the  V  a  r  n  a  s  h  r  a  m  a  D  h  a  r  m  a. 

But  some  might  say  that  the  interpretation  is  too 
broad,  and  only  a  few  specified  books  are  meant  by 
Shruti  and  Smrti.  Yet  even  they  admit  that  the  books 


n 

Maim,  xii.  106 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE  117 

have  not  come  down  to  us  in  their  entirety,  that  much 
the  larger  portion  of  them  has  been  lost.  Many  of  the 
books  available,  and  regarded  as  sacred,  open  with 
the  express  statement  that  that  work  exists  in  a 
hundred  or  a  thousandfold  greater  size  and  detail  in 
the  heaven- world,  or  in  the  Satya-loka.  And,  in 
any  case,  the  narrower  view  which  would  exclude  is 
not  likely  to  be  of  much  practical  help  at  this  time. 
Indeed  it  is  a  great  hindrance. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  distinction  between '  the 
secular'  and  'the  religioiis'  does  not  exist  in  the  older 
culture,  as  it  does  in  the  present.  The  Samskrt  verb- 
root  v  i  d,  to  know  and  to  exist — for  knowledge 
and  existence  are  aspects  of  each  other — is  the 
common  source  of  all  Veda  and  all  Vidya.  .  All 
sciences  and  all  arts  are  regarded  as  comprised  in 
the  supplementary  Vedas  (Upa- Vedas),  or  limbs 
and  parts  (Ai'igas  and  Upilngas)  of  the  one  Veda. 
The  word  Shastra,  from  s  h  a  s,  to  teach,  is  only  the 
causative  aspect  of  v  i  d,  to  know.  Probably  the 
modern  word  'science*  is  derived  from  the  same 
root,  or  the  allied  one  sham  s,  to  inform.  In 
Manu,  the  expression,  "the  science  of  the  Veda" 
(V  e  d  a-s  h  a  s  t  r  a)  occurs  repeatedly,  and  nowhere  in 
the  work  is  any  distinction,  of  nature  or  kind, 
made  between  Veda  on  the  one  hand  and  Vidya  or 
Shastra  on  the  other,  but  only  of  whole  and  parts, 
organism  and  organs.  Every  piece  of  true  knowledge 
and  genuine  science  is  part  and  parcel  of  the  Total 


118  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Knowledge  (Akhila-Veda)  which  is  the  source 
and  the  foundation  of  D  harm  a.  So  much  so  is 
this  the  case  that  there  is  no  distinctive  name  for  the 
Hindu  religion,  as  there  is  for  others.  It  is  only 
the  Ancient  Law  (Sana  tana  D  harm  a),  the  Law  of 
Knowledge  (Vaidika  D  harm  a),  the  Duty  of  Man 
(Manava  D  harm  a),  the  Duty  of  the  stages  of  Life 
and  the  classes  of  Men  (Varnashrama  Dharma). 
There  is  no  word  in  Samskrt  possessing  exactly  the 
same  connotation  as  the  new  word  '  religion ' — 
for  the  reason  that  the  connotation  embodies  a  half- 
truth,  and  half-truths  are  generally  errors.  Others 
may  try  to  mark  themselves  off  from  the  followers  of 
the  Law  of  Knowledge.  Its  followers  can  include 
them  all  without  even  changing  their  name.  All 
can  be,  indeed  all  are,  despite  themselves,  the 
followers  of  that  Law  to  a  greater  or  a  lesser  extent ; 
to  the  extent  that  they  guide  their  lives  by  the 
Religion  of  Science  (Yeda-sha  stra),  the  Law  of 
Wisdom  (Parama-Yidya),  the  Noble  Way  (Arya- 
mata)  or  the  great,  broad,  liberal,  world-compre- 
hending View  (Brahinadrshti).  This  Dharma  is 
so  all-inclusive,  of  all  religions,  that  it  does  not  need 
to  proselytise.  By  the  inherent  laws  of  human  nature, 
every  human  being,  as  soon  as  he  attains  to  a  certain 
stage  of  knowledge,  as  soon  as  he  crosses  beyond  the 
narrowing  views  of  bigotry  born  of  egoism,  so  soon 
must  he  of  his  own  accord  become  a  follower  of  this 
Dharma,  and  that'  without  changing  his  previous 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE  119 

name.  For  all,  in  any  part  of  the  world,  who  can 
thus  deliberately  realise  the  value  of  the  Religion 
of  Science  physical  and  superphysical,  there  are 
places,  naturally  ready,  according  to  their  respective 
temperaments,  amongst  the  three  twice-born  castes. 
For  those  who  have  not  progressed  so  far  in  soul- 
unfolding — their  natural  place  is  in  the  fourth  divi- 
sion, and  they  are  there,  by  whatever  other  names 
they  call  themselves. 

If  the  custodians  of  the  ancient  law,  in  this  land  of 
India,  would  expand  their  souls  and  minds  to  the 
width  of  such  construing,  then,  instead  of  crushing 
out  its  life  with  the  ever  more  tightly  closing  iron 
bands  of  narrow  interpretations,  they  might  give 
it  a  vast  expansion,  and  bring  all  nations,  at  one 
stroke,  within  its  pale.  The  Brahmanas,  Kshattriyas, 
Yaishyas  and  Shudras  of  the  West,  would  then  at  once 
take  their  places  side  by  side  with  the  Brahmanas, 
Kshattriyas,  Vaishyas  and  Shudras  of  the  East. 

In  modern  India  also,  a  distinction  has  grown  up 
between  spiritual  and  temporal,  divine  and  worldly, 
vaidika  and  laukika.  This  is  partly  due  to  the  fact 
that  in  the  course  of  evolutionary  densification  of  the 
outer  body,  the  physical  plane  became  more  marked  off 
from  the  superphysical,  and  the  physical  began  to  be 
too  much  with  us,  while  the  superphysical  receded 
more  and  more  into  the  mysterious  distance.  For  the 
rest,  it  is  due  to  the  general  wave  of  egoistic  competi- 
tion and  concurrent  excessive  differentiation  and 


120  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT   OP   THEOSOPHY 

division  in  all  departments  of  life — which  wave, 
while  running  highest  in  the  West,  the  habitat  of  the 
fifth  sub-race,  has  also  affected  all  other  parts  of  the 
earth-world. 

In  the  eai'lier  day,  whatever  difference  was  made 
between  sacred  and  lay,  was,  it  would  seem,  only  the 
difference  between  the  more  important  and  the  less  so. 
The  head-works  of  an  extensive  scheme  for  the  water- 
supply  of  a  capital  are  most  particularly  guarded 
against  casual  and  careless  sight-seers,  and  from  all 
possible  causes  of  taint.  The  pipes  and  taps  in  the 
immediate  use  of  the  townsfolk  cannot  be  and  are  not 
so  guarded.  Facts  of  science  and  products  of  mechani- 
cal art,  when  they  subserve  the  military  purposes  of 
the  State,  become  official  secrets,  and  are  guarded 
rigorously  by  acts  of  legislation.  Even  so,  the 
secret  knowledge,  physical  or  superphysical,  con- 
tained in  those  works  which  are  known  as  "the 
Veda  proper  with  its  secrets  (Rahasya),"  the  heart 
of  the  total  Veda  as  distinguished  from  its  limbs 
and  clothing,  was  guarded  from  misuse  and  the 
taint  of  sin  and  selfishness  with  greater  care  than 
the  rest.  That  there  is  a  secret  significance  in  parts 
of  the  Veda  is  expressly  mentioned  by  Manu  : 

He  who  bringeth  up  the  pupil,  investing 
him  with  the  sacred  thread,  and  teacheth  him 
the  Veda  with  its  secret  meaning  and  its  practical 
working — he  is  known  as  the  ach  arya.  (And  not 
easily  and  lightly  may  any  one  learn  this  secret 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OP    LIFE  121 

meaning  and  its  practical  working.)  The  twice- 
bom  should  acquire  the  whole  of  the  Veda  with 
its  secret  meaning,  with  the  help  of  tapas  of  many 
kinds,  and  fasts  and  vows  and  vigils  as  ordained 
by  rule.1 

But  this  secret  knowledge  was  never  withheld 
from  the  duly  qualified  (adhikari)  who,  by  hia 
desert,  had  gained  the  right  and  title  to  it. 

When  the  arrangements  for  the  handing  on  of  the 
Secret  Doctrine  from  generation  to  generation  began 
to  degenerate  in  the  temples  and  houses  of  the 
teachers,  because  of  the  degeneration  in  the  character 
of  the  custodians,  since  the  setting  in  of  the  present 
cycle  on  the  day  that  Krshna  left  the  earth,  and  the 
secret  knowledge  began  to  be  misapplied  by  them 
for  selfish  purposes  instead  of  for  the  public  good, 
then,  it  seems,  the  Buddha  published  a  part  of  it  to 
the  world  at  large,  to  make  that  world  less  powerless 
against  what  was  becoming  black  magic  ;  to  attract 
fresh  recruits,  in  the  shape  of  souls  with  the  seeds  of 
self-sacrifice  and  of  superphysics  in  them,  for  re- 
strengthening  the  ranks  of  the  Spiritual  Hierarchy 
which  guides  the  evolution  of  men  on  earth  ;  and, 
generally,  to  restore  the  disturbed  balance  and  further 
the  behests  of  the  Great  Law. 


Manu,  ii.  140,  165. 


122  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOfHY 

These-  restorations  of  balance  are  periodic.  In  our 
own  day,  when  the  secret  knowledge  became  wholly 
lost  from  public  consciousness  in  India ;  when  it 
began  to  appear  in  the  West,  in  the  shape  of  the 
secrets  of  science  and  of  spiritualism,  but  in  dis- 
jointed pieces,  for  lack  of  the  unifying  metaphysic ; 
when  it  began  to  threaten  danger  to  mankind  be- 
cause of  the  underlying  spirit  of  materialism  and 
sensuousness  which  was  guiding  the  utilisation  of 
those  secrets  in  daily  life ;  then,  it  may  well  be 
said,  the  balance  began  to  be  and  is  still  being 
restored  by  a  new  public  disclosure  of  the  spirit- 
ualising and  elevating  principles  of  that  Secret 
Doctrine,  by  means  of  the  Theosophical  Society 
and  other  more  or  less  similarly  spii-itual  move- 
ments. Material  science  and  civilisation  having 
encroached  upon  the  forest-haunts  and  mountain- 
solitudes  to  which  the  Ancient  Wisdom  had  retired 
for  the  time,  in  the  purposes  of  Providence,  it 
became  unavoidable,  by  the  law  of  action  and  re- 
action, that  spiritual  science  and  civilisation  should  in 
turn  invade  the  restless  brains  and  roaring  Baby- 
Ions  where  material  desires  and  sciences  hold  revel. 
It  is  the  old,  old  churning  of  the  ocean  of  life,  between 
the  two  forces  of  '  spiritwards '  and  '  matterwards ' ; 
the  ever-repeated  battle  between  the  angels  (Suras) 
and  the  demons  (Asura  s),  now  the  one  prevailing, 
now  the  other ;  which  churning  and  battling  makes 
up  the  Play  and  Pastime  (1 T 1  a)  of  the  Supreme. 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OP   LIFE  123 

Along  the  lines  of  this  view  of  the  Varnashrama 
D  h  a  r  m  a,  it  becomes  easy  to  understand  why  that 
D  harm  a  includes  so  many  of  the  small  personal  and 
physical  details  of  life.  The  modern  student,  starting 
with  a  narrow  and  sharply-defined  notion  of  what  he 
calls  religion,  viz.,  beliefs  and  practices  concerning 
superphysical  affairs  alone,  and  regarding  these  as 
wholly  cut  off  in  nature  from  physical  affairs,  and 
identifying  the  word  dharma  with  religion,  wonders 
vacantly  that  the  Hindu  eats,  and  drinks,  and  sleeps, 
and  bathes,  and  studies,  and  travels,  and  sells,  and 
purchases,  all  in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  'religion'. 
He  does  not  wonder,  but  takes  it  as  a  most  acceptable 
and  proper  compliment  to  his  intelligence,  if  he  is  told 
that  he  himself  does  all  these  things,  or  at  least  tries 
to  do  them,  in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  '  science '. 
And  yet  the  word  '  religion '  in  the  one  case  means 
exactly  the  same  thing  as  '  science  '  in  the  other.  For 
Dharma  is  not  merely  other-world-religion,  but  is 
also  every  duty,  every  law,  every  proper  and  specific 
function  of  every  tiling  or  being,  in  this  and  in  all 
other  worlds.  And  Veda  is  all-knowledge,  all-science, 
of  the  physical  and  the  superphysical  planes,  and  not 
merely  of  the  physical,  as  the  science  of  the  modern 
West  has  been  until  very  recently.  Manu's  Dharma- 
s  h  a  s  t  r  a  thus  becomes  the  Whole  Scheme  and  the 
Whole  Science  of  Life;  it  is  a  Code  for  regulating  that 
life  so  that  it  shall  be  fullest  of  happiness  and  freest 
of  pain  in  all  its  departments,  physical  and 


124  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

superphysical,  which  are  ever  interblended ;  and  it 
utilises  for  its  ends  all  the  most  important  facts  of 
all  the  sciences,  which  have  any  close  bearing  on  that 
stage  of  human  evolution  with  which  the  Code 
concerns  itself. 

To-day,  in  the  West  also,  '  psychic  science '  is 
a  recognised  expression,  and  researches  and  in- 
vestjgations  and  journals  and  books  concerning 
it  are  multiplying.  So  long  as  microbes  and 
animal  magnetism  were  not  known  to  western 
science,  rules  as  to  '  touching  and  not  touching ' 
were  pure  superstition.  Now  they  have  become 
known,  those  same  rules  are  becoming  science. 
Indeed  '  Science '  is  in  danger  of  becoming  more 
bigoted,  tyrannical,  narrow-minded,  orthodox,  than  ever 
^Religion'  was.  Witness  the  discussions  and  practices 
about  inoculation  and  vivisection.  So  long  as  the 
astral  and  mental  worlds  of  subtler  matter  (Bhuvah 
and  Svah),  and  their  denizens,  disembodied  humans, 
fairies,  nature-spirits  of  various  kinds  (p  r  e  t  a  s, 
apsaras,  gandharvas,  devas),  are  not  definitely 
perceived  by  scientific  men  and  their  followers,  so 
long  as  the  passage  to  and  fro  of  human  selves 
between  the  various  worlds,  and  the  causes  and 
conditions  of  such  passing  to  and  fro,  are  not 
realised,  all  beliefs  and  practices  regarding  these  will 
remain  superstition  to  them.  As  soon  as  they  are 
perceived  and  understood,  these  beliefs  and  practi- 
ces will  become  the  subject-matter  of  the  most 


THE    WORLD-PROCESS    AND    THE    PROBLEMS    OF   LIFE  125 

important  of  all  applied  sciences,  the  new  and  larger 
Dharma-shastra  of  the  future.  And  this  is  quite 
natural  and  proper.  Superstition  is  faith  without 
reason.  Science  is  the  same  faith,  but  with  reason. 
In  India,  the  beliefs  and  practices  are  left  ;  the  reason 
has  disappeared.  In  the  AVest  the  reason  is  slowly 
appearing  ;  the  beliefs  and  practices  will  follow. 
Mutual  help  would  make  the  restoration  of  the  whole 
so  much  the  quicker,  and  obviate  the  danger  of  mis- 
takes and  running  to  extremes  over  half-discoveries. 
But  in  order  that  such  mutual  help  may  become 
possible,  the  outer  custodians  of  the  ancient  learning, 
or  rather  such  pieces  of  it  as  are  extant,  and  the 
creators  of  the  new  learning  —  the  Brahmanas  of  the 
?]ast  and  the  Brahmanas  of  the  West  —  should  both 
broaden  their  minds  sufficiently  to  make  common 
cause.  Manu  says  (ii.  114)  : 

Vidya  came  to  the  Brahmana,  and  pleaded: 
"  I  am  thy  sacred  trust.  Do  thou  guard  me 
well  and  give  me  not  away  to  those  that  cavil 
slightingly.  So  only  shall  I  be  of  ever  greater 
power  and  virtue."  ' 

Thus  Knowledge  sought  home  and  refuge  with  her 
natural  guardian.  So  Avell  lias  he  protected  her  that 
he  himself  knoweth  no  longer  where  he  hid  her  away, 
Only  her  outer  dress  remains  with  him.  And  now 
when  she  is  asking  him  to  let  her  put  on  that  dress 


TT  *TT  5TCrT*n  *3T       ^T^TT  II  M'HHH,  ii.  114. 


126  :.iA\r  ix  THE  LIGHT  OK  THEOSOPHY 

again,  she  is  not  recognised  by  him.  He  is  satisfied 
with  the  outer  clothing  and  displays  it  to  strangers, 
and  desires  that  it  be  honored  and  accepted  as  the 
Ancient  Wisdom  herself.  But  the  custodian  and  his 
dress  meet  no  longer  with  honor,  but  with  contempt 
and  ridicule,  like  a  King  degraded  and  dethroned 
and  deprived  of  power,  but  left  with  the  rubes  of 
royalty  and  walking  about  in  them  in  the  stivers 
of  a  strange  town,  where  the  children,  of  ui;  grown 
souls,  throw  mud  at  him  and  treat  him  as  a  lunatic 
or  a  masquerading  clown. 

To  restore  the  Ancient  Wisdom  to  her  rightful 
throne  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  whole 
human  race,  it  is  necessary  to  ally  the  outer 
form  and  dress  of  learning  with  the  living  soul 
and  body  of  true  austerity  (tapasya).  We  must  go 
back  to  the  origins  of  life  and  power.  Not  other- 
wise can  fresh  vitality  be  found.  Streams  of  living 
water,  wandering  far  from  their  sources,  become 
befouled.  Those  who  want  pure  drink  must  toil 
back  to  the  sources.  Waking  and  working,  the 
embodied  self  becomes  tired ;  for  fresh  supply  of 
energy  he  must  go  back  to  sleep.  When  commenta- 
ries upon  commentaries  have  overlaid  and  buried  out 
of  sight  the  real  meaning  of  the  text,  we  must  dig 
down  to  it  again.  When  narrow  and  exclusive  inter- 
pretations have  brought  about  the  rigidity  of  disease 
and  the  poisoning  of  the  juices  of  the  body  with 
mutual  distrust  and  arrogance,  hatred  and  selfishness, 


TEE    WORLD-PROCESS    AM)    THE    PROBLEMS    OF    LIFE  127 

then  we  must  .seek  and  assimilate  more  liberal  and 
rational  ones  to  restore  tlie  elasticity  of  health  and 
the  free  circulation  of  the  vital  fluid  of  love  and  sym- 
pathy and  mutual  helpfulness  in  tlte  limbs  of  the 
nations.  And  for  fresh  inspiration  to  interpret 
newly  and  livingly  the  old  learning,  we  must  go  to  the 
mental  tabula  rasa  of  meditations  and  the  physical 
conditions  of  self-denying  asceticism  (tapasya)  and 
subjugation  of  the  lower,  when  only  the  Higher 
can  make  itself  known.  Maim  says  : 

Austerity  and  wisdom  are  the  way  of  the 
Brahmai.ia  to  the  highest  goal.  By  strenuous 
self-denial  and  conquest  of  the  lower  cravings  he 
destroy eth  all  hindering  demerits,  and  then 
only  may  the  Wisdom  shine  out  by  which  he 
attaineth  the  immortal.1 

1  rTTT  ft^CT  ^  R*ff«l  ft:^*^i<fit  Wt  I 

It 

Man u,  xii.  104. 


LECTURE  III 

THE  PKOBLEMS  OF  EDUCATION 


II 

,  xii.  97,  99. 

The  four  types  of  human  beings,  the  four  stages, 
and  all  the  infinite  variety  of  experience  implied  by 
these,  nay,  the  three  worlds,  or  yet  more,  the  whole  of 
the  happenings  of  all  time,  past,  present  and  future — 
all  are  upheld,  maintained,  made  possible  and  actual, 
are  realised,  only  by  Knowledge,  by  Consciousness 
(Universal  and  Individual). 

The  Ancient  Science  of  True  Knowledge  bearetlt 
and  nourisheth  all  beings.  All  welfare  dependeth  upon 
Right  Knowledge.  Right  Knowledge  is  the  living  creature's 
best  and  only  and  most  certain  means,  helper  and 
instrument,  to  happiness. 


AT  our  last  meeting,  we  went  over  the  outlines 
of  the  history  of  the  race ;  we  saw  that,  during 
the  current  epoch,  the  ways  to  realise  the  ends  of 
life  are,  according  to  Manu,  the  ways  of  castes 
(varna)  and  of  life-stages  (a  shram  a);  we  made 
lists  of  the  main  problems  of  life,  and  arranged 


THE    PROBLEMS    OP    EDUCATION  129 

them  into  four  large  groups,  as  dealt  with  by  the 
four  stages  and  the  four  castes.  To-day  we  shall 
attempt  to  discuss,  in  a  little  more  detail,  though 
yet  all  too  briefly,  the  solutions  provided  by  Mann 
of  some  of  those  problems. 

Under  Manu's  classification,  education  has  to  be 
dealt  with  first.  From  the  modern  standpoint, 
which  looks  more  to  the  physical  life,  people  must 
live  physically  well  first  and  be  educated  after- 
wards. The  governments  of  to-day,  therefore,  con- 
cern themselves  first  and  foremost  with  questions 
of  offence  and  defence,  increase  of  their  own  terri- 
tories and  population,  and  reduction  of  their  neigh- 
bor's ;  and  in  the  second  place,  with  matters  of 
trade  and  agriculture  and  commerce  and  mineral 
wealth.  The  Army  and  Navy  eat  up  from  a  third 
to  a  half  of  the  total  revenues  of  most  of  the  civilised 
governments  of  to-day.  Education  with  them,  till 
very  recently,  came  third  in  importance.  But  it  is 
now  beginning  to  be  seen  that  education  is  the 
foundation  of  all  other  prosperity. 

From  the  introspective  and  psychological  stand- 
point of  the  Ancients,  education  comes  first  in  im- 
portance as  well  as  in  the  chronological  order  of 
life.  The  international  and  political  status  of  a 
people  corresponds  with  and  rests  on  its  economi- 
cal condition.  If  the  latter  is  prosperous,  the 
former  is  sure  to  be  high.  And  the  economical 
condition  depends  upon  the  social  organisation.  If 


130  MAM;  IN   THE  LIGHT  OF  THEOSOI-KY 

the  latter  is  well-planned,  strong,  stable,  not  lia- 
ble to  daily  dislocations,  yet  elastic,  and  is  govern- 
ed by  a  single  serious,  substantial,  high  and 
permanent  aim,  as  the  physical  organism  by  the 
soul — not  swayed  about  by  passing  panics  and 
passions  like  a  fickle  lunatic  by  conflicting  moods, 
nor  obsessed  with  a  single  low  aim  of  sense- 
pleasures  and  i-iches,  as  a  monomaniac  with  a 
dangerous  idea — then  the  economical  condition  is 
sure  to  be  full  of  all  the  needed  wealth  and 
power.  But  the  social  organisation  again  depends 
upon  the  population,  the  structure  of  the  family, 
and  the  nature  of  the  domestic  life.  If  the  popu- 
lation is  not  excessive  nor  lacking,  if  the  family 
is  well-knit  and  maintains  meritorious  traditions, 
if  the  domestic  life  is  soulful,  then  the  social 
organisation  will  be  strong.  And  all  this,  finally 
rests  upon  the  psycho-physical  constitution  of 
the  individual.  That  constitution  is  therefore  the 
foundation  of  the  whole  national  or  racial  struc- 
ture, and  Maim  accordingly  concerns  Himself 
with  its  education  and  perfection  first  of  all.  Ap- 
parently, from  His  standpoint,  it  is  better  not  to 
be  born  into  this  world  at  all,  than  to  be  born 
therein  and  to  live  ill,  in  ignorance  of  those  soul- 
truths  which  not  only  make  life  worth  living,  but 
without  which  indeed  human  Society  would  be  im- 
possible, and  suffers  confusion  exactly  to  the  extent 
to  which  it  is  without  them.  The  current  belief  in 


\ 
THE  PKOELKMS  OF  EDUCATION  131 

the  West  is  that  the  standard  of  life  is  low  in  the 
East.  It  is  so,  to-day.  Perhaps  it  was  so,  in  the 
past,  from  the  physical  standpoint.  But  the  stand- 
ard of  the  inner,  superphysical  and  spiritual  life 
has  always  been  very  high,  until  recently  perhaps, 
when  a  special  concourse  of  circumstances  began  to 
lower  that,  without  in  any  way  making  it  possible 
to  effectually  raise  the  other.  The  future  will  de- 
cide which  is  the  more  permanent  and  more  help- 
ful standard  and  ideal,  plain  living  and  high  think- 
ing, or  high  living  and  plain  thinking.  Many 
people  have  begun  to  doubt  if  the  modern  phase 
of  civilisation,  based  upon  the  principle  of  high 
living  and  plain  thinking,  is  proving  very  much  of 
a  success ;  and  possibly  a  reaction  may  set  in. 
Manu's  type  of  civilisation  is  based  on  the  other 
principle,  and  the  education  is  regulated  accordingly. 
The  time  for  the  commencement  of  regular  edu- 
cation is  fixed  differently  for  different  types  of 
boys.  The  earlier  years  were  left  purely  to  physi- 
cal activity  and  play,  in  recapitulation  of  the  life 
of  the  earliest  races.  Those  in  whom  the  quality 
of  wisdom  (s  a  1 1  v  a),  predominates,  who  have  to  do 
the  work  of  Brahmanas,  of  storekeepers  and 
purveyors  of  knowledge  and  good-will  to  all  ac- 
cording to  their  needs,  they  are  to  begin  their 
education  early ;  they  need  not  spend  so  much 
time  on  physical  games  nor  let  their  consciousness 
run  so  much  into  muscle.  Those  in  whom  that 


132  MANU    IN    THE    LIUHT    OF    THEOSOFHY 

quality  is  distinctly  colored  by  activity  (rajas),  who 
are  to  do  the  duties  of  the  Kshattriya,  to  rule  and 
guard  and  fight  for  the  defence  of  the  people, 
they  begin  a  little  later,  spending  more  time  on 
muscle-work.  Those  whose  intelligence  is  largely 
tinged  by  steady  attachment  (tain as),  who  cling  to 
the  land  and  the  cattle  and  commercial  possessions, 
who  have  to  do  the  plodding  work  of  trade  and 
agriculture,  and  slowly  and  steadily  gather  the 
wealth  of  the  nation,  who  are  to  be  Vaishyas, 
they  begin  a  little  later  still;  not  that  their  phy- 
sical vehicle  can  or  may  attain  greater  soundness 
than  those  of  the  Kshattriyas,  but  because  their 
powers  unfold  more  slowly  in  consequence  of  their 
clinging  'inertia'. 

The  Brahinana  should  be  led  up  to  the  teacher, 
and  invested  formally  with  the  sacred  thread 
(which  marks  the  beginning  of  the  student 
stage)  in  the  eighth  year,  the  Kshattriya  in 
the  eleventh,  and  the  Vaishya  in  the  twelfth 
But  if  the  boy  shows  exceptional  promise  and 
desire  for  the  qualifications  of  his  vocation — the 
gaining  aura  and  the  special  color  or  light 
of  wisdom,  if  a  Brahma  na;  the  glory  of  physical 
vitality  and  the  might  of  thew  and  sinew  if  a 
Kshattriya;  the  magnetism  of  commercial  enter- 
prise and  initiative  energy,  if  a  Vaishya  ;  then 
should  he  commence  his  studies  in  the  fifth, 
sixth  and  the  eighth  year,  respectively  for 
the  three  types.  Such  commencement  should 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  133 

not  be  delayed  beyond  the  sixteenth,  the  twenty- 
second  and  the  twenty  -fourth  year,  in  the  three 
cases.  For  Savitii,  '  the  daughter  of  the  Sun,' 
the  chief  of  mantras  and  of  the  laws  of  nature, 
the  introspective  consciousness  and  the  power 
of  the  higher  reason,  without  which  life  remains 
un-understood,  to  the  man  as  to  the  animal  — 
that  Savitri  waits  no  longer  for  the  young 
Spirit  after  those  periods,  and  may  not  be  found 
again  in  that  life.1 

The  mind  and  its  vehicle,  the  nervous  system, 
lose  the  needed  elasticity;  and  the  finer  the  ner- 
vous system  the  sooner  such  atrophy  and  degenera- 
tion begin,  if  its  natural  functions  are  left  un- 
exercised. 

Modern  thought  and  practice  are,  perforce,  more 
or  less  in  accordance  with  this  rule  of  Manu's.  Edu- 
cation must  come  in  the  earlier  years  of  life.  Thus 
Prof.  James  says  (Principles  of  P»ychology,  ii.  402)  : 

Outside  of  their  own  business,  the  ideas 
gained  by  men  before  they  are  twenty-five  are 
practically  the  only  ideas  they  shall  have  in 
their  lives.  They  cannot  get  anything  new. 


^  Tt  i  N  v  I  '  «i  «t  * 


Manu,  ii.  36,  37,  38. 


134  MAXU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Disinterested  curiosity  is  past,  the  mental  grooves 
and  channels  set,  the  power  of  assimilation  gone. 
...  In  all  pedagogy,  the  great  thing  is  to  strike 
the  iron  while  hot,  and  to  seize  the  ware  of  the 
pupil's  interest  in  each  successive  subject  before 
its  ebb  has  come,  so  that  knowledge  may  be  got 
and  a  habit  of  skill  acquired — a  headway  of  in- 
terest, in  short,  secured,  on  which  afterward  the 
individual  may  float.  There  is  a  happy  moment 
for  fixing  skill  in  drawing,  for  making  boys  col- 
lectors of  natural  history,  and  presently  dissec- 
tors and  botanists  ;  then  for  initiating  them  into 
the  harmonies  of  mechanics  and  the  wonders  of 
physical  and  chemical  law.  Later,  introspective 
psychology  and  the  metaphysical  and  religious 
mysteries  take  their  turn ;  and  last  of  all,  the 
drama  of  human  affairs  and  Avorldly  wisdom  in 
the  widest  sense  of  the  term.  In  each  of  us  a 
saturation-point  is  soon  reached  in  all  these 
things. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  iron  is  not  struck  while 
hot,  if  the  psychological  moment  is  passed  by,  the 
chance  of  gaining  the  desired  habit  is  practically 
lost  for  the  rest  of  the  life.  Thus,  as  Prof.  James 
goes  on  to  say: 

If  a  boy  grows  up  alone  at  the  age  of  games 
and  sports,  and  learns  neither  to  play  ball,  nor 
row,  nor  sail,  nor  ride,  nor  skate,  nor  fish,  nor 
shoot,  probably  he  will  be  sedentary  to  the  end 
of  his  da  vs. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  135 

We  see  in  these  remarks  of  a  modern  thinker, 
the  recognition  of  the  importance  of  fixing  a  special 
time  for  training  in  habits  and  education  generally. 
As  to  what  the  significance  of  the  Savitrl  is  and  why 
it  is  regarded  as  most  important,  and  what  other 
matters  should  be  dealt  with  by  the  educationists,  and 
when  and  how — these  matters  we  shall  come  to  in  a 
moment.  Differences  will  be  found  between  the  an- 
cient views  and  the  current  ones  on  these.  The 
contrasts  and  the  agreements  will  appear  of  them- 
selves as  we  proceed.  They  cannot  be  discussed  in 
detail  within  our  limits.  Only  general  comparisons 
can  be  made  now  and  again.  The  modern  solutions, 
or  experiments  towards  solution,  are  observable  all 
around  us,  and  how  far  they  succeed  and  how 
far  fail  is  also  more  or  less  clear. 

The  chief  difficulty  of  modern  educationists  is 
that  of  fitting  means  to  ends.  It  is  obvious  that 
the  process  of  education  is  not  an  end  in  itself 
but  a  means.  But  a  means  to  what  ?  The  mo- 
dern educationist  does  not  know  that  '  what '  ex- 
actly. Hence  his  perplexity.  He  will  not,  before 
starting  on  his  work,  take  the  trouble  to  clearly 
formulate  to  himself  the  ends  of  life,  as  the  an- 
cient educationist  does.  And  not  formulating  the 
ends,  he  inevitably  neglects  the  appropriate  means. 
By  one  of  those  paradoxes,  which  nature  has  in- 
vented to  maintain  her  balance,  the  modern  man 
while  laying  all  the  stress  he  can  on  differentiation 


136  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

as  the  prime  factor  in,  and  as  the  very  spirit 
of,  evolution,  in  all  departments  of  nature,  yet  ob- 
jects to  it  in  human  society,  in  the  shape  of 
castes  and  types  of  men,  but  would  make  them 
all  equal.  The  degenerate  descendant  of  the  an- 
cient man,  on  the  other  hand,  recognising,  orally 
at  least,  the  oneness  of  Spirit,  is  inclined  to  treat 
each  individual  as  a  separate  caste  by  him- 
self. In  the  lands  of  the  separate-seeing  sight 
(b  h  e  d  a-b  u  d  d  h  i)  Ave  have  too  much  outer  inter- 
mixture. In  the  land  of  the  oneness-seeing  sight 
(a  b  h  e  d  a-b  u  d  d  h  i)  too  much  separativeness,  at  the 
present  day — though  it  was  not  so  in  the  past. 

The  modern  educationist  is  not  yet  ready  to  act 
upon  the  recognition  of  ready-made  main  types  of 
boys.  Nor  indeed  can  he  do  so  very  easily,  in  the 
present  confusion  of  caste,  though  he  is  begin- 
ning to  admit  that  there  are  different  types  of 
boys.  And  so  far  as  the  ends  of  life  are  con- 
cerned, he  only  vaguely  thinks  of  leisurely  occu- 
pations— whatever  that  might  mean — for  the  well-to- 
do,  and  of  bread-studies  for  the  rest ;  in  other  words, 
of  only  pleasure  (k  tl  m  a)  and  profit  (a  r  t  h  a),  and  of 
these  too  without  clear  definition.  And  with  the 
increase  of  egoism  and  of  the  struggle  for  life, 
study  is  becoming  ever  more  and  more  bread- 
study  for  the  great  mass  of  students.  If  this 
goes  on  unchanged,  the  result  will  be  that  the 
foundations  of  these  bread-studies,  the  sole  means 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  137 

of  social  cohesion,  viz.,  the  humanities,  the  dharma- 
studies — to  say  nothing  of  the  means  of  liberation 
(m  o  k  s  h  a-studies) — will  some  day  be  neglected 
entirely,  and  become  sapped  and  weakened  over 
much ;  and  then  the  whole  social  edifice  will  tumble 
down  in  great  catastrophes. 

Not  till  the  ends  of  life  are  systematically 
studied  and  understood;  not  till  Duty  (d  harm  a) 
is  clearly  recognised  as  the  foundation  of  the  social 
polity  and  insisted  on  in  all  education,  and  con- 
stantly demonstrated  to  the  students  and  to  the 
public  generally  to  be  such  foundation  of  Profit 
and  Pleasure ;  and  not  till  the  futui-e  vocation  of  the 
child  can  be  decided  on  by  the  elders  beforehand 
— not  till  then  will  the  modern  educationist  suc- 
ceed in  solving  his  difficulties.  The  extent  to 
which  he  succeeds  at  all  is  precisely  the  extent 
to  which  he  can  fulfil  these  conditions,  consciously 
or  unconsciously. 

So  long  as  the  future  vocation  remains  unsettled, 
and  the  orderly  succession  of  the  ends  of  life  un- 
recognised, so  long  the  preparatory  education  must 
inevitably  remain  unsettled  also;  and  all  other 
discussions  and  controversies  over  details  of  text- 
bqoks  and  syllabuses  and  specialisations  and  gene- 
ralisations and  options,  are  mere  self-deception 
and  futile  waste  of  time.  Nay,  they  are 
worse.  They  divert  attention  from  the  main  issue, 
and  mislead  the  mind  of  the  people  with  a  false 


138  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

appearance  of  clever  fencing,  away  from  the  vital 
point  which  needs  most  guarding.  They  are  like 
repairing  the  upper  stories  of  a  crumbling  house 
with  material  dug  out  from  the  foundations.  Such 
methods  will  only  precipitate  the  final  catastrophe 
the  sooner,  after  a  temporary  lull  which  is  the 
result  of  the  diversion  of  the  destroying  forces  in 
other  directions,  and  the  consequent  false  appear- 
ance of  great  prosperity  and  intellectual  activity. 

In  the  old  scheme,  the  ends  of  life  were  clear, 
and  the  future  vocation  was  foreseen,  in  a  broad 
sense.  Therefore  the  appropi'iate  education  was 
easy  to  decide  on,  also  in  the  same  broad 
sense.  Any  further  specialisation  that  was  needed, 
within  the  limits  of  the  main  types,  was  provided 
for  as  the  student's  faculties  developed  and  manifest- 
ed in  special  ways,  in  the  course  of  the  studies. 
And  because,  when  the  Code  of  Life  was 
properly  working  and  duly  observed  by  the  people, 
health  and  a  full  span  of  life  could  be  safely 
counted  upon,  therefore  the  period  of  study  was 
made  fairly  long,  but  yet  again  with  adjustment 
to  the  various  types,  longest  for  the  Brahmana 
and  less  for  the  others. 

The  ideal  and  full  period  of  education  is  stated 
to  be  thirty-six  years,  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  the  residence  with  the  Teacher.  The 
whole  circle  of  knowledge,  indicated  by  the  word 
T  i-  a  y  I,  the  three  Vedas,  the  all-comprehensive 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  139 

Trinity  of  Sciences,  the  Science  of  the  Trinity,  and 
all   their   subsidiary    sciences,     can    be    encompassed 
in  this  period.    The  next  best  is  eighteen  years.     The 
minimum,  nine  years  ;  or  —  the  important  principle  is 
added  —  till    the   desired   knowledge   is   acquired. 
After  having   spent   the   first   quarter  of  life 
with     the     Teacher,    undergone   the    discipline 
which     produces    real    knowledge,    and   refined 
and   consecrated  his  soul  in  the  ways  prescribed 
—  after  this  preparation  only  should  the  twice- 
born   man  take   a   wife   unto  himself  and  dwell 
in  the  household.  1 

Persons  who  had  passed  through  the  full  course 
would  be  practically  omniscient  and  able  to  cope 
with  the  difficulties  of  any  situation  in  life.  They 
would  know  the  relation  of  causes  and  effects  in 
every  department  of  life.  They  would  be  fully 
aware  of  the  immediate  consequences  of  a  single 
happy  or  unhappy  word  in  a  conversation  between 
two  persons,  as  also  of  the  distant  and  many-sided 
effects  on  the  life  of  future  generations  of  a  legis- 
lative measure  taken  to-day.  They  would  be  more 
than  the  mere  ready-debaters  and  makers  of  apt 
retorts  who  are  ready  to  speak  at  a  moment's  notice 


TuT=F  ^T  M^'JIINrHi*^    fT  II 


Ma,i»,    iii.    1;    iv.    1;    ii.    164. 


140  MAXU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

on  any  and  every  subject,  without  any  preparation 
and  without  any  qualification  either.  They  would 
have  passed  not  only  through  the  conservation 
(brahmacharya)  of  the  body,  but  the  more  import- 
ant maturation  (brahmacharya)  of  the  mind  al- 
so, with  self-control  of  thought  and  speech  and  vows 
of  reverent  and  silent  listening  (shushrusha),  not 
incontinently  and  immaturely  creating  an  over-abund- 
ant progeny  of  feeble  and  diseased  thoughts  and 
books  to  precipitate  the  general  degeneration.  They 
would  become  the  centres  of  happy  homes  and 
bear  the  burdens  of  the  household  lightly  ;  they 
would  also  become  the  centres,  radiating  love 
and  wisdom,  of  happy  communities,  and  bear  the 
burdens  of  the  larger  household  of  the  nation  light- 
ly, as  the  guides  and  counsellors  of  Kings.  Such 
would  be  true  Teachers  (BrAhmanas),  Sages  and 
Saints,  combining  self-denial  and  overflowing  com- 
passion and  the  irresistible  power  of  knowledge 
(tapas  and  vidya).  They  would  be  the  real  Patri- 
archs of  the  race,  God's  blessings  incarnate 
amongst  men. 

Persons  who  had  passed  through  the  next  degree 
of  training — less  in  the  details  of  knowledge  and 
super-physical  powers  and  continuous  sacrifice  on 
the  higher  planes,  but  greater  in  strength  of  body 
and  fitness  for  sudden  and  extreme  sacrifice  on  the 
physical  plane,  and  equal  in  spiritual  wisdom — such 
persons  would  be  fit  for  the  work  of  the  Warrior 


THE  PROBLEMS  OF  EDUCATION  141 

and  Ruler  (Kshat^riya). 

Those   who   had   passed  through   the  third  degree 
of  discipline — equal  to  the  other  two  in  the  spiritual 
wisdom  which  makes  them  all  twice-born,  greater  in 
continuous  and  steady    but    not  extreme  sacrifice  on 
the  physical    plane   than   the  others,   and    less  than 
them  in  the  other  respects — such  would  take  up  th& 
work  of  the  merchant  and  agriculturist  (Yaishya). 
The  next  question  is,  what  should  be  taught  ? 
Modern  educationists,  now   being    rapidly    driven 
mad    by    the     incessant    conflict    of  the    opinions    of 
experts  and  non-experts,   will   probably,   before  very 
long,   come   to   the   conclusion  that,   after  all,   there 
was   some  sense  in   the    older  way.     As   soon   as    a 
course-book    is  now    prescribed,    a   dozen    criticisms 
of   it   appear  in   the   papers,  tearing  its  contents  to 
pieces     and     showing     up    all    kinds   of   motives    as 
inspiring    the    author    to    write    it    and    secure    its 
inclusion    in  the    officially-prescribed   courses.      An- 
other is  put   up.     It  meets  with  a  worse  fate.     Sylla- 
buses are   prescribed.     The    results  of  examinations 
begin   to   stagger  to  and  fro,  from  year  to  year,  like 
drunken      men.      Endless    options    are     introduced. 
Teachers  and  taught  become   demented  in  trying  to 
find    out   what    they    should  choose,   and    how    they 
should   fit    the   chosen    subjects  into  the   time-table. 
None  knows  what  subjects — excepting  the  three  R's — 
should  be  taught  first,  and  what  afterwards.     None 
can  say  with  conviction    whether  technical    subjects 


142  MANU    IN    THK    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

should  be  given  most  importance,  or  artistic,  or 
literary,  or  scientific.  Students  are  left  to  decide 
for  themselves  as  to  what  they  shall  study — at  an 
age  when  they  are  absolutely  incompetent  to  do  so. 
In  the  war  of  opinions,  in  favor  of  play  and  kinder- 
garten and  stimulation  of  the  understanding  on 
the  one  hand,  and  steady  plod  and  cram  ;;ml 
memorising  on  the  other,  the  new  generation  is  in 
a  fair  way  to  lose  physical  health  first  and  both 
memory  and  reason  afterwards.  The  propriety  of 
giving  moral  and  religious  education  is  the  subject 
of  interminable  and  most  heated  controvers}r.  If 
the  need  for  physical  education  is  more  generally 
admitted,  the  forms  cannot  be  agreed  upon  ;  shall 
it  be  games  or  shall  it  be  drill,  .shall  it  be  exercises 
with  apparatus  or  without,  hard  gymnastics  or  light 
play,  costly  cricket  and  foot-ball  and  base-ball  and 
tennis  and  hockey,  or  inexpensive  dips  and  hops 
and  strains?  And  where  to  find  the  means  for  all 
this  elaborate  modern  way  of  education — that  is 
the  last  straw  on  the  back  of  the  poorer  nations. 

All  this  is  the  natural  result  of  the  unsettled  condi- 
tion of  the  whole  racial  and  social  organisation;  of 
the  inchoate  and  uncertain  nature  of  the  extant 
knowledge  on  many  subjects ;  and  mainly,  as  just 
said,  of  the  inability  of  parents  and  teachers  to 
decide  what  vocation  a  particular  child  is  best  fitted 
for  and  what  place  in  the  nation  he  would  fill  best 
in  the  second  stage  of  life.  Because  of  the  excessive 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  143 

competition  for  the  good  things  of  the  world,  on  the 
one  hand,  amongst  the  few,  and  for  the  mere 
minimum  bread  and  salt,  on  the  other,  amongst  the 
many,  there  is  not  the  leisure,  not  the  freedom  from 
care,  not  the  inclination,  which  alone  could  make 
possible  for  all,  or  at  least  the  majority,  the  studies 
which  promote  and  enhance  the  finer  forms  of  life,  the 
life  of  thought,  of  science,  of  art — for  their  own  sake, 
as  is  said  ;  for  the  sake  of  the  life  of  the  astral,  the 
mental,  the  higher  bodies,  and  for  the  life  of  the 
nation,  as  is  really  unconsciously  meant.  It  cannot 
be  repeated  too  often,  that  the  education  of  the 
young  has  to  be  governed  by  considerations  of  his 
future  means  of  existence,  and  that  therefore  pre- 
determination of  vocation  is  the  only  secret  of  success- 
ful solution  of  all  educational  problems  : 

Having  generated    and  brought    up  the  sons, 
the  father  ought  to  find  means  of  living  for  them.1 

And  when  those  future  means  of  living  are  un- 
certain, the  present  process  of  education  must  also 
be  very  doubtful  and  very  anxious,  with  endless 
harassment  and  ruin  of  mind  and  body  to  parents, 
teachers,  children,  as  the  inevitable  result. 

Of  course,  all  this  has  its  own  place  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  race.  It  will  enable  us,  compel  us,  to  go 
back  to  the  older  plan  on  the  higher  level  of  a  deli- 
berate assent  with  full  knowledge  of  the  reason  why. 
In  the  meanwhile,  it  forms  a  commentary,  b}-  contrast 


144  MAXU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

on  the  simple  rules  of  the  caste  and  life-stage  polity 
of    Manu    (Varnashrama    Dharma). 

According   to    that,   four  main  types  of  mind   and 
body — not  of  Spirit,  which  is  casteless,  sexless,  color- 
less, creedless,  ageless,  raceless — were  distinguished 
as  having  gradually  differentiated  out  of  the  primal 
homogeneity,    as    different    cereals    have    developed 
out  of  the  same  primitive  wild  grasses.     And  there- 
fore  the  work  of  adjusting  the  course  of  education 
to  the  needs  of  each  became  easy.     Also  knowledge 
was   not  in   a  hazy   condition,   undergoing  correction 
and  modification  and  swinging  to    and  fro  between 
extremes   of  opinion,  every  day.     Even  to-day  there 
is    no    such     difficulty     as    regards    arithmetic    and 
geometry  and  mensuration,  as   there  is   with   regard 
to   chemistry  and   physiology  and   history,  etc.     It  is 
undisputed     that     the    three      R's    must     form  part 
of   every   education.      If  we   could    become    equally 
sure   of  our   knowledge   of  other  matters    and  if  we 
could     spare   the   necessary  time,   then   all  the  diffi- 
culties we  now  suffer  from  would  vanish.     This  ideal 
condition   is   indicated  by  the  Ordinance*  of  Mann  as 
possible  always,   and  by  the  Puranas  as  having  been 
real    in   the  past.     The  Yedas  and  their  subsidiary 
and     derivative     sciences,  as     seen   and   revealed  by 
Seers    (Rshis),   were  a   mass  of  ascertained  facts  and 
laws   about   the  accuracy  of  which  there  was  not  and 
could    not    be    any    serious  dispute,  and  which  the 
student     had    only  to  absorb   and   assimilate  to  the 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  145 

utmost  of  his  capacities  of  memory  and  reasoning. 
Wherever  and  whenever  he  was  able,  and  found 
himself  moved,  to  ask  "  why  ?  "  the  appropriate  "  be- 
cause" was  forthcoming,  ready  to  his  hand.  An 
enormous  saving  of  time  and  energy  was  thus  secured, 
without  any  stunting  of  intelligence  ;  for  enquiry 
was  constantly  insisted  on  at  the  same  time  that 
the  spirit  of  reverent  affection  for  the  elders  and  of 
corresponding  tenderness  for  the  youngers  was 
sedulously  educed  and  evoked  ;  without  which 
interplay  of  reverence,  on  the  one  hand,  and  tender- 
ness, on  the  other,  the  life  of  the  teacher  and  the 
student  becomes,  not  life,  but  the  deadness  of 
machinery  ;  without  which,  even  if  the  sympathy 
of  equality  could  by  any  chance  remain,  still  the  life 
of  the  race  would  lose  almost  all  its  grace  and 
poetry. 

Manu  says  : 

When  beginning  the  day's  study,  the 
Teacher  should  ask  the  student  to  begin,  and 
throughout  it  also,  from  time  to  time,  should 
instruct  him  to  understand  before  proceeding 
further,  and  at  the  end  of  the  study  he  should 
say  :  let  us  stop.1 


ii.  73. 

0  This    adhlshva     corresponds    with    the    modern 
teacher's  :   "  Do  you  follow  ?  "  "  Do  }-ou  understand  ?  "  "  Is 
my   meaning  clear?"  etc. 
10 


146  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

The  word  here  used  for  study  (a  d  h  y  a  y  a  n  a)  does 
not  mean  memorising  only.  It  means  understanding 
also.  The  etymological  significance  is  'approaching  a 
subject  from  all  sides/  therefore  understanding  it  in 
all  its  bearings.  Perhaps  the  nearest  English  word 
is  '  comprehension/  '  grasping  completely  '.  It  is 
clearly  said,  in  the  Matsya  Purana  : 

Enquiry  is  not  disbelief.1 
And  we  have  already  seen  that  : 

Only  he  really  knows  the  d  h  a  r  m  a,  who  has 
grasped  the  reason  of  it.2 

But  if  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the  student  to  ask 
"  why?"  and  of  the  teacher  to  answer  "  because/'  if 
enquiry  was  not  allowed  to  be  treated  as  disbelief— 
as  is  unfortunately  done  so  often  in  these  days  of 
degeneration  of  knowledge  in  the  custodians  —  it  was 
also  made  their  duty  to  ask  and  answer  in  the 
right  spirit. 

Let  not  the  kiiower  answer  until  asked  ;  nor 
may  he  answer  if  not  asked  in  the  right  manner. 
He  should  behave  as  if  he  knew  not  anything 
amidst  the  men  (who  are  not  ready  to  learn  and 
ask  not  in  the  right  spirit)  .3 

Manners  also  have  degenerated  in  these  latter  days, 
side  by  side  with  knowledge  ;  and  what  we  see  but 


:  II  Manu,  xii.  106. 


3TT^T?l.  II         Manu,  ii.  110. 


THE    PKOBLEMS    OP    EDUCATION  147 

too  often  is,  that  a  question  is  a  mental  and  verbal 
blow  and  the  answer  a  return  blow. 

As  to  whether  this  claim  of  the  ancients  to  cer- 
tain and  indubitable  knowledge  was  or  was  not 
justifiable — this  is  a  question  which  cannot  be  dealt 
with  in  a  few  minutes  and  by  one  who  has  not 
himself  such  knowledge  and  the  power  to  demons- 
trate. But  one  fairly  clear  consideration  is  open 
to  all  of  us.  The  foundation  of  the  ancient  know- 
ledge is  Consciousness.  And  the  absolute  solidity 
of  this  foundation  can  be  verified  by  any  one  for 
himself,  with  a  very  little  trouble.  But  if  any  one 
is  unwilling  to  take  this  trouble  even,  and  prefers 
to  take  his  opinion  from  modern  science,  and  that 
alone,  then,  for  him  also,  the  same  opinion  is  to  be 
found  there.  Many  modern  scientists,  who  have 
turned  their  attention  to  the  subject,  have  clearly 
recognised  that  the  only  certain  fact  in  our  pos- 
session is  the  fact  of  consciousness,  and  that  all 
other  facts  whatsoever,  the  existence  of  sense- 
objects,  which  appear  so  solid  and  certain,  are  all 
dependent  on  the  testimony  of  that  consciousness. 
Indeed  the  sense-organs  which  prove  to  us  the 
existence  of  this  solid-seeming  world — the  existence 
of  these  senses  themselves  is  proved  to  us  only  by 
our  consciousness  of  them.  They  cannot  prove  them- 
selves. On  this  basic  fact  of  consciousness,  the  whole 
of  cosmogenesis  and  anthropogenesis,  all  the  sciences 
of  evolutionary  astronomy,  chemistry,  biology, 


148  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF   THEOSOPHY 

physiology,  psychology,  etc.,1  have  been  built  up  by 
the  ancient  Seers;  and  built  up  by  a  deductive 
process;  built  up  with  the  mortar  of  a  close  rea- 
soning, which  any  really  earnest  student  can  test 
and  make  sure  of  for  himself,  to  such  extent  as  is 
possible  without  the  help  of  superphysical  powers. 

All  know  of  the  Sankhya  cosmogony,  which  is  ac- 
cepted by  all  Hindu  systems  of  science  as  the  psy- 
cho-physics of  the  individual  as  well  as  the  universal. 

4fe 

From  Matter  (Pradhana),  inspired  by    Spirit 

(Purusha),     arises    Universal    Ideation,    thence 

atomic    individuality    (or   individualised   atomi- 

city),  thence   the   primal  organs   of   knowledge 

and  action,  the  sense-qualities,  and  the  elements, 

thence   all  the    endless  ever-moving  worlds  and 

their  inhabitants  of  many  genera  and  kingdoms.2 

From  this  rapid  consideration,  we  may  get   some 

little  idea,  at  least,  that  to  the  ancient  knowledge 

belongs     that     kind     of     certainty     and    orderliness 

which  goes  with  absolutely  sure  data  and    deduct- 

ive   reasoning    based  thereon  ;  while  to  the  modern 

knowledge  belongs  that  opposite  quality  which  goes 

with   fluctuating  data   and  inductive   generalisation* 

based  thereon. 

1  The  various  Angas  and  Upangas  and  Upa-vedas. 


II 

Satikhya-Karika,  21-22. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OP    EDUCATION  149 

Assuming  this  condition  of  comparative  certainty 
of  knowledge  and  of  future  vocation,  and  associated 
leisure  and  peace  of  mind,  the  duty  of  teacher  and 
taught  became  simple,  and  teaching  became  thorough- 
ly practical  and  utilitarian  in  the  best  sense, 
directly  subserving  the  recognised  ends  of  life  and 
not  loading  the  mind  with  immense  quantities  of 
scrappy  and  disjointed  'information'. 

But  intellectual  education,  even  of  the  highest 
order,  occupies  a  secondary  place  in  the  old  scheme. 
The  first  and  most  important  items  of  education  are 
others  : 

Having  taken  up  the  pupil,  in  order  to  lead 
him  up  to  the  Highest,  the  teacher  shall  first 
of  all  teach  him  the  ways  of  cleanliness  and 
purity  and  chastity  of  body  and  mind  and  good 
manners  and  morals,  and  he  shall  teach  him 
ho\v  to  tend  the  fires,  sacrificial  and  culinary, 
and  more  important  than  all  else,  how  to  per- 
form his  Sandhya-devotkms.  i 

Detailed  rules  are  given  on  all  these  matters. 
The  verse  quoted  not  only  shows  what  to  teach 
first,  but  also  where  the  education  must  be  carried 
on.  It  is  in  the  home  of  the  teacher.  The  resi- 
dential, or  rather  the  house-master  system,  in  a  very 
complete  sense,  is  clearly  enjoined,  but  under  con- 
ditions which  retain  all  the  benefits  and  all  the 


II     Manu,  ii.  69. 


150  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

beauty  of  the  life  of  the  good  home.  Who  taught 
us  first  the  ways  of  cleanliness  ?  The  mother  and 
the  father  taught  the  muddy  child  how  to  wash 
its  hands,  its  face,  its  feet.  The  teacher  continues 
the  process.  He  is  as  father  and  as  mother,  the 
willing  and  tender  slave  and  relative  of  the  stu- 
dent. The  difference  between  the  two  is  subtle  as 
that  between  science  and  superstition.  The  rela- 
tive is  the  willing  slave.  The  slave  is  an  unwilling 
relative.  The  difference  is  the  difference  of  spirit 
alone.  But  the  spirit  is  everything.  And  yet  it 
is  neglected  short-sightedly  alike  by  elder  and  young- 
er, by  those  in  authority  and  those  subject  to  it, 
in  the  present  time.  The  pupil  of  the  olden  day 
becomes,  literally,  part  of  the  family  of  the  teach- 
er. And  Manu's  Brahmana  knows  how  to  compel 
the  gratitude  and  reverence  of  his  beloved  pupil 
by  unceasing  offices  of  tenderness. 

And  the  pupil  earns  his,  and,  at  times,  his  teach- 
er's meals,  by  going  round  a-begging  in  the  neigh- 
boring town.1  And  the  begging  is  to  be  done  in  a 
fashion  which,  while  it  gives  to  the  student  the 
training  in  poverty  that  is  one  essential  part  of  a 
full  life,  eliminates  from  «it  all  humiliation,  and  in- 
vests it  instead  with  poetry  : 

1  The  expression  "  neighboring  town "  shows  that 
the  Gurukula  is  to  be  located  in  the  open  healthy 
suburbs,  wooded  lands  and  garden  places,  not  amidst 
crowded  habitations. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  151 

At    the    first,    he    should    beg   from    his    own 
mother,   or  sister,   or  the  mother's  sister,  from 
whom  he  may  not  feel   shame  and  shyness  in 
taking.1 
But  later  : 

He  should  not  beg  among  the  family  and 
relatives  of  his  preceptor,  or  of  his  own  rela- 
tives or  kinsfolk  ;  but  from  the  houses  in  the 
neighboring  town,  and  only  the  houses  of  the 
good  and  the  dutiful  householders,  in  whose 
homes  the  sacrifices  enjoined  by  the  Vedas  ars 
kept  alive.  Or,  if  need  be,  and  he  should  not 
get  food  elsewhere,  or  if  there  are  no  other 
homes  available  in  the  vicinity,  then  he  may  beg 
from  his  relatives  and  kinsfolk  too.  And  having 
secured  the  needed  food,  and  no  more,  by  begging 
artlessly,  he  should  present  it  to  his  preceptor,  and 
then,  with  his  permission,  should  eat  it  facing 
east,  after  the  customary  mouth-rinsing  (acha- 
mana)  and  full  purification.2 


3T  Hl<^  H  ftl  41 
rT  faSTT  SP 
Then: 


H^ltrjll 


Manu,  ii.  50,  183,  184,  185,  186. 


152  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Not  very  easy  to  revive  in  its  integrity,  all  this 
to-day,  no  doubt !  And  yet,  placing  ourselves  in 
that  distant  condition,  and  reconstructing  that  old 
world  before  our  mind's  eye,  can  we  not  see  any 
features  therein  to  recommend  ?  There  is  the 
freedom  from  excessive  centralisation,  with  its 
overcrowding,  and  its  mechanisation  of  men  and 
of  knowledge,  and  its  loss  of  human  kindlinesses 
and  home-emotions.  There  is  the  practice  of  true 
socialism,  where  every  mother  and  every  sister 
learns  to  look  upon  every  dear  student-beggar  as 
her  own  son  and  her  own  brother ;  for  if  she  gives 
food  to  the  hungry  child  or  brother  of  another,  is  not 
her  own  hungry  child  or  brother  being  helped 
tenderly  at  the  same  time  by  another  ?  And  so 
the  heart  of  every  parent  goes  out  to  every  child, 
and  of  every  child  to  every  parent,  and  affection 
reigns  in  the  community  and  love  suffuses  and  soft- 
ens every  life.  And  burdens  are  proportionately 
divided,  and  not  felt  but  welcomed  eagerly,  for  the 
capacities  of  every  family  are  known,  and  no  more 
students  go  to  any  than  can  be  conveniently 
provided  for  by  it.  And,  because  the  Great  Father 
Manu  has  said  that  students  must  not  take  their 
food  from  the  houses  of  the  vicious  and  the  sinful, 
and  therefore  the  children  will  not  come  to  them 
and  do  them  the  honor  of  accepting  their  food  if 
they  are  not  virtuous,  therefore  every  home,  for  the 
sake  of  the  children,  strives  to  maintain  its  standard 


THE    PROBLEMS    OP    EDUCATION  153 

of  dutifulness  high.  By  this  simple  device,  of 
every  student  begging  food  from  every  other 
home  than  his  own,  the  Great  Progenitor  binds 
together  in  one  the  hearts  of  all  the  families  of 
the  community,  and  consecrates  the  spirit  in 
them,  so  that  it  shines  forth  in  the  life  of  matter 
and  joy  becomes  duty  and  love  becomes  law. 

It  is  not  quite  sure  that  the  present  ways  are 
very  much  better,  are  even  so  good  !  The  most  that 
can  be  said  in  their  favor  is  that  taking  into  account 
the  whole  organisation  of  society,  we  could  not 
very  easily  do  otherwise.  But  that  whole  organisa- 
tion requires  to  be  recast  in  a  new  spirit,  the  spirit 
of  love  in  place  of  the  spirit  of  struggle.  In  the 
educational  systems  of  to-day  too,  as  in  other  depart- 
ments, we  see  that  the  main  ideas  are  the  same  as 
the  old  ones,  viz.,  that  students  should  reside  near 
their  colleges  and  schools,  under  the  supervision  of 
their  educators,  and  be  supplied  with  their  needs 
partly  by  their  parents  and  partly  from  public 
funds ;  which,  of  course,  also  means,  ultimately,  the 
householders  and  breadwinners  of  the  nation.  But 
the  defects  are  in  the  details,  overcrowding,  lack 
of  the  family-feel,  disproportionate  expense,  inability 
to  give  personal  attention  to  each  individual  student. 
And  these  defects  are  gradually  leading  public 
opinion  in  the  direction  of  private  seminaries  and 
an  expansion  of  the  house-master  system  (especially 
for  the  earlier  stages  of  education)  as  distinguished 


154  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF   THEOSOPHY 

from  the  large  Boarding-House  or  Hostel  and  the 
"  Latin  quarters "  of  great  University  towns  with 
their  negative  and  positive  evils. 

Of  things  to  be  taught,  cleanliness  and  chastity, 
good  manners  and  high  aspirations,  come  first,  as 
said  before.  There  is  no  dispute  that  cleanliness 
is  next  to  godliness.  How  to  eat  and  drink  and 
bathe  and  sleep  and  keep  clean  the  body  and 
the  clothes  and  the  dwelling-place — these  are 
to  be  taught,  as  ruled  by  Manu.  Good  manners 
are  also  generally  recognised  as  necessary.  But 
in  modern  days,  somehow,  no  definite,  regular  teach- 
ing is  given  on  these  matters  either.  The  lack 
of  good  manners — which  leads  to  so  much  friction 
and  irritation  and  sometimes  disastrous  quarrels 
that  blight  lives — is  being  constantly  pointed  out 
and  denounced  by  everybody,  now-a-days,  in  students, 
in  high  and  low  officials,  amongst  business-men, 
in  the  working  classes,  in  every  country.  But  no 
effort  is  made  systematically  to  teach  manners  to 
them,  by  those  who  are  in  the  best  position  to  do 
so,  viz.,  the  governments  of  the  various  countries  and 
the  educationists. 

If  a  man  is  taken  from  the  plough  and  put  into 
an  official  place,  which,  however  petty  it  is,  still 
carries  with  it  much  power  for  mischief  and  some 
for  good,  how  is  it  possible  for  such  a  man  not 
to  feel  that  he  is  there  to  enjoy  the  taste  of  power 
by  a  piece  of  sheer  good  luck,  in  which  his  fellow- 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  155 

ploughmen  have  not  and  need  not  have  any  share  ? 
How  is  it  possible  for  such  a  man  to  behave  other- 
wise than  in  the  ways  of  vulgar  arrogance  ?  No 
one  ever  told  him  that  he  was  put  into  that  place 
in  order  to  serve  the  public  by  helping  the  good  and 
hindering  the  evil,  and  not  in  order  to  feel  himself 
a  great  man.  He  does  not  know  that  elementary  yet 
all-important  fact,  has  never  been  taught  it,  and 
yet  is  given  daily  blame  for  rude  behavior,  and 
is  given  it  in  a  manner  not  very  much  better  than 
his,  and  which  instead  of  helping  his  soul,  only 
irritates  him  and  confirms  him  in  his  evil  ways.1 
From  the  Sovereign  to  the  least  public  servant  .t 
should  be  the  duty  of  each  superior  officer  to 
instruct  his  next  subordinate  first  in  the  ethics 
of  that  subordinate's  work,  the  rightewts  spirit 
of  human  sympathy  and  general  helpfulness  and 
freedom  from  arrogance  in  which  he  should  do 
his  work,  and  only  secondly  to  instruct  him  in 
the  business-details.  Manu  says  : 


1  e.g.,  A  striking  difference  may  be  seen  by  comparing 
the  English  and  Indian  police-constables.  The  English 
constable  is  sedulously  taught,  before  he  is  put  to  his 
duties;  he  is  taught  how  to  behave,  he  is  taught  that  he 
is  the  servant  of  the  public  ;  hence,  everyone  in  London 
turns  to  the  constable  as  to  a  friend.  In  India  he  is  not 
taught  good  manners  nor  his  duty  to  the  public  ;  and 
he  is  airogant,  and  everyone  tries  to  keep  out  of  his  way, 
and  dreads  him.  Not  he,  but  those  who  have  neglected 
to  teach  him,  are  responsible. 


156  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

The  responsibility  is  the  elder's.     The  elder, 

the     higher,     the     superior,    by    his    righteous- 

ness   of    spirit     and     conduct,    maketh   the    fa- 

mily  thrive    and    grow    and     prosper  ;     or,    by 

the    opposite,     he    bringeth     it    to    ruin     and 

destruction     including     himself.      If     the   elder 

guide      and     train     the     younger     well,     he    is 

verily   as   a   mother   and   as  a   father.1 

A  code  of   manners,   to  be    systematically    taught 

to  all  men,   in   their  days  of  studentship,  is  therefore 

necessary.     The     most    artificial     and   faulty  one  is 

better     than    none.     And     not     only     should    it   be 

taught  to  the  young,  but  the  old  should  also  revive 

their  memories  of  it  from  time  to  time.     The  Rshis 

used   to   revive   the   memories   of  the  Kings  on  such 

points,  in  the  earlier  day.  Men  in  office  and  authority, 

especially,  need  to  be  very  studious  of  the  ways  of 

behavior   which    promote   good-will.     Without   rules 

of    behavior    between    old   and   young   and   equals, 

without  forms  of  salutation  and  reply  and  address, 

life   is    without    grace    and  courtesy  and  stateliness. 

The   careful   observance   of   any  such  code  involves 

a   training   in    self-control,    and  an  understanding  of 

one's    own    and    other's    feelings,    which  smooths  re- 

lations,    obviates     misunderstandings,    and   in  cases 

where   they  may  happen  to  arise,  makes  explanations 

possible     and     easy.      Without      knowing     how    to 


ix.  109,  110. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  157 

address  each  other,  how  to  tell  the  truth  gently, 
people  can  only  cause  and  feel  hurts  and  resentments, 
and  can  take  no  steps  to  help  an  awkward  situation, 
but  only  make  it  worse  by  acting  on  their  un- 
examined  and  uncontrolled  emotions. 

A  detailed  code  of  manners  is  therefore  care- 
fully enjoined  by  Manu,  whereby  reverence  to 
elders,  tenderness  to  youngers,  affection  to  equals, 
are  expressed  on  all  appropriate  occasions,  making 
life  a  continual  feast  of  fine  feeling.  At  the  pre- 
sent day,  as  a  corollary  to  the  development  of 
egoism,  in  every  individual,  and  a  compromise 
between  the  egoisms  of  all,  there  is  a  tendency 
to  dispense  with  reverence  on  the  one  side  and 
tenderness  on  the  other,  and  all  the  expression 
thereof,  by  insistence  on  the  equality  of  all  indivi- 
duals, that  is  of  the  bodies ;  so  that  the  aged 
grandfather  and  the  budding  youth  shall  observe 
the  same  forms  of  behavior  towards  each  other. 
Such  a  state  of  manners  seems,  however,  appro- 
priate to  other  states  of  psycho-physical  constitu- 
tion than  the  present,  conditions  like  those  of 
the  earliest  races,  which  may  be  repeated  again 
in  the  later.  In  the  meanwhile,  to  deprive  our- 
selves of  the  feelings  of  reverence  and  tenderness, 
thinking  to  retain  only  those  of  friendship,  is 
the  same  as  to  deprive  ourselves  of  some  of  our 
sensor  and  motor  organs,  thinking  to  retain  only 
the  rest.  It  is  to  make  life  poorer  and  not  richer. 


158  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Also,  it  is  to  endanger  the  health  and  safety  of 
the  remainder  and  make  its  continuance  doubtful, 
nay,  perhaps  impossible.  For  all  the  aspects  of 
feeling  and  organs  of  body  are  in  intimate  relation- 
ship and  inseparably  bound  up  with  each  other, 
and  amputation  of  any  will  affect  all  the  others. 

It  were  well  if  those  responsible  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  people  in  the  broadest  sense  would 
enjoin  such  a  carefully  thought-out  code  of  manners 
upon  high  and  low,  official  and  non-official,  young 
and  old  and  equal,  and  persons  in  different  walks 
of  life ;  and  it  were  well  if  they  would  see  that 
all  understood  the  psychological  reasons  for  it, 
in  ever-increasing  degree,  according  to  the  growth 
of  their  capacities.  A  good  portion  of  the  friction 
and  unrest  of  modern  days  in  all  countries  would 
disappear  if  such  a  code  of  manners  were  care- 
fully inculcated,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  dis- 
content would  disappear  if  that  code  were  placed 
in  the  setting  of  a  more  equitable  division  of 
work  and  leisure  and  pleasure  for  all. 

We  cannot  go  into  the  details  mentioned  by 
Manu,  for  teacher  and  taught,  ruler  and  ruled, 
friend  and  friend,  stranger  and  stranger,  judge 
and  suitor,  and  so  on.  But  the  general  principle 
of  manners  in  speech,  is  stated  thus  : 

Tell  the  truth,  and  tell  it  pleasantly  and 
gently ;  tell  it  not  rudely  (for  the  truth-telling 
that  hurts  and  jars  and  repels,  carries  not 


THE    PROBLEMS    OP    EDUCATION  159 

conviction  as  truth  must,  but  is  only  a  display 
of  aggressive  egoism).  Never  tell  a  pleasing 
falsehood  either  —  such  is  the  ancient  law.  i 

And   the   general  principle  of  manners  in  behavior 
is  given  thus  : 

Affluence,  good  birth  and  breeding,  years,  high 
deeds  and  much  experience,  knowledge  —  these 
constitute  the  five  titles  to  honor  ;  each 
succeeding  one  is  higher  than  the  preceding... 
Amongst  Brahmanas,  he  who  has  more 
knowledge  is  the  elder;  amongst  Kshattriyas, 
he  who  has  more  might  of  ana  and  physical 
vitality  ;  amongst  Vaishyas,  he  who  has 
more  riches  ;  amongst  Shudras,  he  who 
counts  more  years  of  age  from  date  of  birth.  - 

The  son  of  Angira,  while  yet  but  a  boy  in 
years,  was  set  to  teach  his  uncles,  the  Pi^rs,  the 
Ancestors  of  the  future  races.  And  he  began 
his  lectures  to  them  with  the  words  :  "  My 
children!"  And  the  Pitrs  were  very  indig- 
nant and  lodged  formal  complaint  with  the 
Gods.  And  the  Gods  assembled  to  consider  the 
important  question  and  after  full  consideration, 
gave  judgment  ;  "  The  boy  addressed  ye 


HP! 
2 


II  Mann,  ii.  151, 

5  ^t&r:  i     „    154. 

.  ?J?FTI*r^  IFTrT:  II     ,,    116,   155. 


160  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

properly.  The  one  who  knoweth  less  is  the 
younger ;  the  one  who  knoweth  more  is  the  elder. 
Years  and  white  hairs  and  worldly  wealth  and 
high  family  do  not  make  elderliness.  The 
Rshis  have  decided  that  the  wiser  is  the  greater 
also  amongst  us."1 

These    same     are    the    tests    of     worthiness    and 
right    to    honor    to-day   also,    but  because   the   spirit 
has   gone   wrong  as  in  other    matters,   the   working 
of      them      breeds      invidiousness      and     discontent, 
instead     of    gracefulness     and     pleasure.     The    ac- 
cident    of     birth,     the     accident    of  purse,     the    ac- 
cident   of  age,  are  very  much  talked  and   written 
about,    for   purposes    of   depreciation  and    even  out- 
right denunciation.      Yet   these    are  no  whit   more, 
nor    less,    accidental    than    the    accident    of    brains, 
and  the  accident  of  ability  to  do  deeds.     None  of 
these,     in   truth,    is    accidental.      All    effects    have 
causes.      All  these    powers    and   positions   are   won 
by  self-denial   (tap as)   in   this  or  in  previous  lives. 
All  are  good,  each  in  its  due  place ;  and  all  to  be  highly 
honored  if  rightly  used.     The  Consort  of  Vishnu,  La- 
kshmi,  the  rosy  mother,  the  Matriarch  of  the  World,  is 
no    less,    if   no   more,    important    and    sacred    than 
white  SarasvatT,  the  pure,  chaste  Goddess  of  learning. 
Lakshmi,  the  Goddess  of  all  the  wealth  and  splendor 
and  all  the  art  and  glory  of  the  world  ;    Gaurl,  the 

1  Mann,  ii.  151-154. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  161 

Goddess  of  conjugal  Love  and  vital  Energy  and 
indissoluble  relationships,  the  Goddess  that  makes 
good  birth  and  long  life  and  old  age  and  great  deeds 
possible ;  Saras  vat  I,  the  Goddess  of  Intellect  and 
Wisdom — who  shall  say  which  of  these  is  more 
to  be  honored  than  the  other  two  ?  But  in  misuse, 
the  accident  of  brains  is  even  worse,  if  that  be 
possible,  than  the  accident  of  purse  or  birth  or 
age.  The  Brahrnacharl  of  Maim  was  therefore 
taught  to  reverence  all  the  powers  of  man,  when 
the}r  were  well  used. 

Physical  education  was  part  and  parcel  of  this 
training  in  purity  of  body  and  mind  and  manners. 
And  the  most  important  item  of  this  was  held  to 
be  B  r  a  h  m  a  c  h  a  r  y  a.  Manu's  insistence  on  utter 
continence  during  the  student-life  is  unqualified. 
Without  it,  perfection  of  vital  power,  bodily  and 
mental,  cannot  be  achieved.  Without  it,  the  bearing 
of  the  burdens  of  private  and  public  life  becomes 
a  long-drawn  pain  and  strain  and  struggle  against 
debility  and  disease,  instead  of  a  continual  joy.  Also, 
though  not  expressly  stated,  it  is  indicated  that 
the  total  physical  life  shall  be  four  times  as  long 
as  the  period  of  genuine  continence  observed  before 
the  commencement  of  reproduction  and  creation. 
And  the  extreme  statement  on  the  subject,  in 
works  on  Yoga,  is  that  the  death  of  an  organism 
does  not  take  place  so  long  as  there  is  no  failure 
of  continence  and  autonomy  on  the  part  of  the 
11 


162  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP   THEOSOPHY 

primal    cell    which    is    the    core  of  that  organism  — 
as  illustrated  by  the  story  of  Bhishma. 
Manu  says  : 

Because  of  neglect  of  Veda-study  and  allow- 
ing knowledge  to  decay,  because  of  abandon- 
ment of  the  good  ways,  because  of  mistake  in 
food  and  because  of  careless  failure  of  self- 
continence  does  Death  prevail  over  the  knowers.1 

It  is  possible  to  translate  all  the  processes  of 
the  world  into  terms  of  nourishment  and  reproduc- 
tion, the  two  great  appetites.  Hence  the  great 
stress  laid  by  Manu  on  the  guarding  of  these. 
Directions  are  given  as  to  the  quality  and  quantity 
of  food  for  the  various  types  of  men,  and  for  the 
conservation  of  vital  energy  by  all. 

The  ancestral  germinal  cell  sub-divides  and  pro- 
duces form  after  form,  which  make  the  progeny. 
This  is  true  on  the  physical  as  well  as  the  super- 
physical  planes: 

The  parent  himself  is  born  as  the  progeny, 
becoming  renewed  again  and  again.  2 


Manu  v.  3. 


r-3f  :  u  « 

Manu,  ix.  8^ 

a  See     Kulluka's    commentary    on     Manu,    ix.    8   and 
Surydsukta. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OP   EDUCATION  163 

The  living  creatures  of  a  system  are  actually, 
physically  as  well  as  superphysically,  the  children 
of  the  Logos  of  that  system,  born  out  of  His 
sacrifice  of  a  part  of  His  body  and  living  by  the 
sacrifice  of  other  parts  thereof.  If  any  such  sub- 
divisional  part  or  cell  will  cease  to  sub-divide  further 
and  hold  itself  together,  it  may  continue  to  do  so  for 
an  indefinitely  long  time  and  become,  comparative- 
ly, immortal.  Hanuman,  by  his  utter  continence, 
on  all  planes,  in  this  K  a  1  p  a,  is  to  become  the 
Brahma  of  the  next  K  a  1  p  a.  Such  is  the  promise 
of  brahmacharya,  walking  in  the  path  of 
Brahman,  storing  up  and  accomplishing  and 
perfecting  the  germ  and  source  of  life  and  all 
vitality  and  power,  the  potency  and  principle  of 
infinite  reproduction  and  multiplication,  and  also 
storing  up  and  perfecting  the  seed  of  knowledge, 
which,  again,  is  power  and  has  also  the  potency 
of  infinite  expansion  within  it — for  all  these  things 
are  meant  by  the  word  Brahman,  and  all  have 
an  intimate  connexion  with  each  other. 

Side  by  side  with  the  brahmacharya  of 
body,  goes  the  brahmacharya  of  the  mind, 
alluded  to  before.  This  is  as  necessary  to  observe 
as  the  other.  It  is  evident  that  the  feeble  and 
sickly  physical  progeny  of  the  physically  inconti- 
nent, who  take  up  the  household  life  and  the  work 
of  reproduction  prematurely,  bring  about  the  physi- 
cal deterioration  of  the  race.  It  is  even  more 


164  MANTJ    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

evident,  if  observers  would  only  open  their  eyes,  that 
the  weak,  unhealthy,  unwholesome  mental  progeny 
of  the  mentally  incontinent,  who  take  up  the  most 
responsible  work  of  authorship,  of  education  of 
others,  before  their  minds  have  attained  the  re- 
quisite power  and  balance  and  maturity,  is  even 
more  dangerous  to  the  mental  and  therefore  all 
other  health  of  the  race  and  the  nation.  Witness, 
to-day,  the  evil  mental  excitements,  panics,  irrita- 
tions, psychic  fevers,  crimes,  caused  broadcast  by 
frivolous-minded,  passion-guided,  egoism-inspired 
writers,  rushing  into  print,  in  a  million  books  and 
papers,  while  themselves  yet  ignorant  of  the  very 
alphabet  of  soul-knowledge.  In  the  olden  days,  the 
recognised  attitude  of  the  brahmachari  was 
that  of  shushrusha,  '  the  wish  to  hear,'  not 
to  speak  himself ;  to  listen  with  attention,  with  effort 
to  understand,  with  that  reverent  earnestness  in 
the  warmth  of  which  alone  the  flower  of  the  soul 
can  bloom  and  blossom — not  with  the  incessant 
self -display  ing  restlessness  of  mind  which  is  always 
making  internally,  if  not  in  external  speech  also, 
vehement  assents  and  dissents  and  hasty  comments 
and  criticisms.  So,  on  the  other  hand,  the  only 
motive  recognised  for  authorship  was  helpful 
instruction  : 

With  what  hope  of  profit  may  a  man  describe 
the  greeds  of  the  greedy  and  the  lusts  of  the 
lustful  to  those  that  are  already  obsessed  with 


THE    PKOBLEMS    OP    EDUCATION  165 

greed  and  lust  ?    Shall  he  not  be  even  like  one 

that  deliberately  leadeth  the  blind  to  their  fall 

in  the  pit  ?     Nay  ;  in  order  to  lead   the  minds 

of  the  listeners   gradually  from  the   evil  to  the 

good,    by   emphasising  the  ill  consequences  of 

greed  and   lust,  have  these  been  described  by 

the   Seers  in  chastening  world-histories.     Why 

else  should  the  tender-hearted  Sage,  ever  full  of 

the    deepest   compassion   for   erring   humanity, 

describe  the  things  that  bind  the  souls  of  men 

to  the  grinding  wheel  of  the  World-process  P  * 

To  him  who  wishes  to  observe  b  rahma  chary  a 

unbrokenly,     throughout     his    life,      Maim      grants 

exemption    from    the    other  duties,  the  discharge  of 

the    congenital  debts  by  the  ordinary  means  of  the 

household-life.     He    becomes  elevated,   by  his  aban- 

donment of  the  three  cravings,  to  a  higher  sphere  of 

duty  ;    he    becomes    the    reserve-force    of    the    race, 

the     nation,    the    community,    to    be    of    resistless 

efficiency  in  physical  as  well  as  superphysical  need. 

In    such    a  person,  superphysical  senses  and  powers 

have    possibility    of    development,    nay,  certainty,  if 


MlrT<41. 


TTf3T*f: 

»i 
rlT  I 


Itihasa-  Samnchchaya  . 


166  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

he  fulfil  the  other  subsidiary  conditions.  Even 
current  Va  id  yak  a  (medical)  works  declare  that,  after 
a  certain  stage  and  period,  the  transformations  of 
the  energy  developed  by  the  food  taken  as  nourish- 
ment, carry  it  to  a  plane  subtler  than  the  physical, 
if  it  is  not  thrown  away  earlier,  and  it  then  be- 
comes t  e  j  a  s,  o  j  a  s,  s  a  h  a  s,  and  various  other 
kinds  of  astral  and  mental  forms  of  energy.1 

Eighty-eight  thousand  Rshis  have  taken  up 
the  arduous  path  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  house- 
hold and  the  cremation-ground,  and  serve  as 
the  seeds  of  the  races  of  men  that  pass  through 
birth  and  death,  again  and  again,  in  order  to 
provide  j  I  v  a  s  with  the  needed  physical  vehi- 
cles and  with  experience  of  the  Path  of  Pursuit, 
under  the  governance  of  D  harm  a,  throughout 
the  period  of  world-evolution.  Eighty-eight 
thousand  other  Rshis,  having,  like  the  former, 
their  base  in  the  heaven- worlds,  have  set  them- 
selves apart  to  observe  the  dire  self-control 
of  b  r  a  h  m  a  c  h  a  r  y  a,  in  order  to  keep  back 
the  forces  of  evil  from  overpowei'ing  the  workers 
on  the  Path  of  Pursuit,  to  lead  j  I  v  a  s 
gradually  to  and  guide  them  safely  on  the 
Path  of  Renunciation,  and  to  serve,  till  the 
very  dissolution  of  the  elements,  as  the  un- 
ceasing fountain  of  that  spiritual  knowledge, 
of  the  Vedas,  the  Puranas,  the  TJpamshats  and 

1  There    are    no    English    equivalents   for  these. 


THE   PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  167 

other  Vidyas  and  Surras  and  Bhashyas,  which 
keeps  alive  the  knowledge  of  the  Self.  1 

The  different  periods  of  brahmacharya  for 
the  different  types  or  castes  are  in  accord  with 
the  different  kinds  of  physical  and  superphysical 
powers  and  knowledge  required  to  be  wielded 
by  each. 

Such  then  is  the  first  and  foremost  item 
of  physical,  as  well  as  moral,  education. 

The  directions,  mentioned  before,  in  connexion 
with  the  teaching  of  cleanliness,  as  to  food  and 
sleep  and  bath  and  other  personal  needs  and 
necessities,  have  also  obviously  a  direct  bearing 
on  physical  health  and  sturdiness,  and  may 
therefore  also  be  regarded  as  part  of  the  physical 
education.  And  they  are  all  based  on  medical 
science  in  the  deepest  sense,  viz.,  the  science 
of  the  action  of  the  life-breaths  and  other  vital 
currents  of  the  human  body,  which  govern  its 


(I 


rPTT  t^ie*1«l[  ^T^rTfJ  II 


Ydjiiavalkya,  III.  Adhyatma  Prakarana,,  131-135 


168  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

physiological  functions,  and  of  the  magnetic  and 
other  forces,  present  and  working  in  the  student's 
natural  surroundings. 

Of  physical  exercises  in  the  nature  of  modern 
games  and  athletics,  there  is  no  mention  in  the 
current  Manu-Smrti.  But  the  Puranas  and 
Itihasas  show  that  in  connexion  with  the  teach- 
ing, for  instance,  of  the  '  Scripture  of  the  Bow  ' 
(Dhanur-Veda}1  as  part  of  the  Yajur-Veda,  martial 
exercises,  drill,  wrestling,  fencing,  archery  and 
the  use  of  other  weapons,  mock-combats,  foot- 
races and  horse-  and  car-races,  riding  and 
management  of  horses,  camels,  bulls  and  elephants, 
swimming,  diving,  rowing,  and  leaping  and  jumping 
of  all  kinds,  formed  part  of  the  training,  accord- 
ing to  the  type  and  capacity  of  the  student. 
Aimless  movements  of  the  body  are  discouraged 
by  Manu  : 

Let  him  not  move  his  hands  or  feet  or 
eyes,  aimlessly  ;  let  him  not  talk  rest- 
lessly and  crookedly  ;  let  him  not  think  of 
always  outracmg  others  and  injuring  them 
enviously.9 

1  It  may  seem  strange  in  western  eyes,  but 
athletics,  like  all  branches  of  right  training,  were 
regarded  also  as  part  of  the  divine  knowledge  —  of  that 
division  of  it  which  is  called  the  lower  or  a  p  a  r  a-v  i  d  y  a. 


:  II  iv.  177 


THE    PROBLEMS    OP    EDUCATION  169 

The  idea  of  a  definite  purpose  to  serve,  of 
connecting  all  activity  organically  with  one  or  the 
other  of  the  ends  of  life,  was  kept  before  the 
student,  even  in  play — as  is  in  accordance  with 
the  interdependence  of  Reason,  though  not  the  in- 
dependence of  the  Lower  Mind.  This  purposive- 
ness  might  diminish  the  enjoyment  of  the  play 
somewhat,  but  would  have  the  compensating 
advantage  of  not  allowing  athletics  and  games  to  . 
become  the  end  of  life  of  a  few,  while  the  many 
others  are  content  to  look  on  without  using  their 
own  muscles. 

But  apart  from  such  martial  drilling,  which 
perhaps  was  not  undergone,  except  lightly,  by  the 
majority  of  the  students  other  than  warriors 
(Kshattriyas),  though  all  who  wished  were 
trained,  one  prime  means  of  physical  health  was 
carefully  taught  to  every  student,  namely,  the 
science  and  art  of  breathing  (pranayama)  in 
different  ways,  to  promote  health  and  combat 
disease  : 

* 

As  the  dross  of  metals  is  burnt  away  by 
the  bellows  working  on  the  fire,  even  so  all 
the  impurities  of  the  body  are  consumed  and  all 
defects  rectified,  by  the  controlling  and  re- 
gulating of  the  breath  in  the  proper  ways. 

The    student    was    therefore    taught : 

To  cure  physical  defects  and  diseases  by 
breathing-exercises  ;  mental  diseases  and 


170  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP   THEOSOPHY 

excitements  by  exercises,  in  concentration  of 
the  mind;  vicious  attachments  and  ad- 
dictions of  sense  by  the  practice  of  mental  ab- 
straction ;  and,  finally,  to  overcome  the  disturb- 
ance of  the  guuas  of  Prakrti  by  the  practice 
of  meditation  .J 

Solid  and  liquid  nourishment  is  important  enough, 
no  doubt,  so  much  so  that  the  Chhdndogya 
Upanishat  makes  the  condition  of  the  mind,  and 
therefore  yoga  and  moksha  themselves,  depend 
on  it,  in  words  which  could  scarcely  be  made 
stronger  by  the  most  thorough-going  materialist 
who  makes  out  the  soul  to  be  the  produce  of  the 
contents  of  the  stomach  ;  and  Manu  is  accordingly 
very  precise  in  his  directions  on  the  subject.  But 
this  gaseous  nourishment  of  ours  is  obviously  even 
more  important.  Men  have  gone  without  solid 
food  for  weeks,  without  liquid  food  for  days,  but 
none  —  except  he  has  progressed  in  Yoga  —  can 
remain  even  a  few  minutes  without  air.  Modern 
medical  as  well  as  athletic  science  is  beginning  to 
realise  the  supreme  importance  of  proper  breath- 
ing, and  a  science  of  the  subject  is  slowly  evolv- 
ing. If  the  old  Samskrt  works  were  utilised,  the 
rediscovery  would  be  very  much  more  rapid  in  all 


T  ft 


«u 


Manu,  vi.  71,  72. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  171 

probability.  By  different  forms  of  breathing,  differ- 
ent results  can  be  produced  in  the  body  as  a 
whole,  or  in  its  different  parts,  at  pleasure.  By 
deep  and  rapid  breathing,  the  circulation  of  the 
blood  can  be  stimulated  to  any  desired  degree,  pro- 
moting the  elimination  of  the  refuse. stuff  of  the 
body.  By  combining  it  with  various  postures 
(a  s  a  n  a  s)  special  curative  or  strengthening  effects 
may  be  caused  in  various  parts ;  and  any  needed 
muscular  exercise  and  fatigue  may  be  secured 
without  moving  from  one  spot  and  without  expens- 
ive apparatus.  Using  one  nostril  only  has  one 
set  of  effects ;  another,  another ;  using  both  in 
alternation,  a  third ;  simultaneously,  a  fourth — and 
so  on.  The  Upanishats1  tell  how  mind  and  breathings 
and  vital  currents  (prana)  go  together.  By  the  ex- 
ercises of  regulated  breathing  (pranayama)  dormant 
nerves  and  cells  may  be  reached  and  stimulated, 
and  new  powers  acquired  by  the  individual  in  a 
short  space  of  time,  which  will,  in  the  ordinary 
way,  come  to  the  race  in  the  course  of  ages. 
The  disciplining  in  such  breathing-exercises  was 
apparently  the  most  important  item  of  physical 
education,  in  the  olden  time.  The  amount  of  im- 
portance attached  to  their  regular  performance 
may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  they  are  made 
part  of  the  daily  worship  (sandhya). 

1  See  the  Trishikha-Brdhmana. 


172  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT   OF    THEOSOPHY 

The  tending  of  the  culinary  fires,  and  learning 
to  cook  food  was  another  important  item  of  the 
education,  which  may  be  regarded  as  coming 
under  physical  education,  being  immediately  sub- 
servient to  good  health.1  The  tending  of  the  sacri- 
ficial fires  merges  into  religious  education. 

As  regards  religious  education,  it  has  been  al- 
ready said  that  religion,  in  the  sense  of  physical 
plus  superphysical  science,  pervades  the  whole  of 
Manu's  scheme  of  life,  and  therefore  the  whole  of 
the  education.  Yet,  in  a  more  restricted  sense 
also,  is  it  specially  provided  for.  This  is  in  the  shape 
of  the  morning  and  evening  meditations  (s  a  n- 
d  h  y  a) .  Without  observance  of  the  s  a  n  d  h  y  a 
the  twice-born  falls  from  his  regenerate  condition. 
The  sandhya  links  together  the  visible  and  the  in- 
visible, the  physical  and  the  superphysical.  Omit- 
ting mention  of  all  details,  though  each  is  signifi- 
cant, the  most  important  part  of  the  sandhya  is 
G  a  y  a  t  r  I,  a  m  a  n  t  r  a,'2  a  prayer  to  the  Sun,  our 
visible  God  (pr  at  y  aksh  a-de  vat  a),  Deity  made 
manifest  even  to  the  eyes  of  flesh,  including  all 


1  Compare     the    items     in    the     programme     of     the 
*  Peace  Scouts '  movement  recently  started   in   England, 
for     training     all    boys     in    manners     and     morals    and 
general    helpfulness     and     in     cooking     their     own    food 
with    a   'minimum   of   fuel,    etc. 

2  A  mantra   is   a  sequence  of  sounds,  arranged  with 
the    view   of   obtaining   a   particular   effect. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF   EDUCATION  173 

the  other  Gods  within  Himself  l  the  Ruler  of 
our  world-system,  the  source  of  all  its  light  and 
heat  and  energy,  on  the  physical  as  well  as  the 
subtler  planes,  the  highest  embodiment,  to  us,  of 
the  all-sustaining  Universal  Self. 
One  of  the  Upanishats  says  : 

The  Sun  is  the  soul  of  the  moving  and 
unmoving.  From  the  Sun  all  beings  and  all 
elements  issue  forth.  We  offer  worship  unto 
Thee,  the  Chief  and  First  of  Gods.  Thou 
art  the  visible  mover  and  doer  of  all  actions. 
Thou  art  the  visible  Brahma.  Thou  art  the 
visible  Vishnu.  Thou  art  the  visible  Rudra.'2 
And  the  Vishnu-Bhagavata  says  : 

The     Sun     is     the     real    Vishnu.     He    alone 
is    the    very    Self,    and   the   central   heart,    and 
the  first  maker  of  this  world  system.    He  has  been 
declared    in    many    ways    by    the    Rshis,    to   be 
the  root  and  source    of    all  the  forces,     all    the 
knowledge  and    activity  of  our  world.  " 
In     order    to    renew    our    exhausted    forces    and 
wasted    tissues,    we    take    fresh    food  and  endeavor 

ft  *P  I 


I   Wft   3TTf53T  I     *W3    ST^T^t    ^^^7%  I 

i    "FT^  jpret   R^ifa  i    ^r?  ira 

Surya-  Upanishat. 


T.  BhCxjuvuta   XI.  xi.  30. 


174  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THBOSOPHY 

to  secure  fresh  air.  To  vitalise  our  whole  being 
anew,  day  after  day,  in  its  outer  as  well  as  inner 
constituents,  our  physical,  astral  and,  even  more, 
our  mental  bodies,  we  have  to  open  it  out  to  the 
overflowing  and  radiating  love  of  the  Sun.  And  we 
have  to  do  this  at  the  proper  times;  for  there  are 
times  which  are  more  suitable  for  the  absorption  of 
this  supreme  nourishment  than  other  times,  as  there 
are  for  eating  and  drinking  and  other  physiological 
functions.  The  method  of  the  opening  out  of  the  heart 
to  receive  this  nourishment,  is  the  recitation  (jap a) 
and  the  dwelling  on  the  significance  of  the  Sacred 
Word  (P  r  a  n  a  v  a)  ;  the  mystic  prefixes  and  the 
mantra  (Vydhrtis  and  Gdyatri  orSavitri);  the 
putting  of  the  soul  into  an  attitude  of  prayer  and 
receptivity  in  accordance  with  the  meaning  of  that 
mantra;  the  attuning  of  the  heart  to  it.  A 
super  physical  centre  in  the  region  of  the  physical 
heart  is  indeed  the  proper  organ  for  this  particular 
meditation. 

The  primal  single  sound  (Aum  or  Om)  is  the 
highest  uttered  word  of  power  and  knowledge. 
It  is  verily  as  Brahman  itself.  The  regulation 
of  the  breath  is  the  chief est  t  apas-discipline. 
Higher  than  the  Savior  I  is  no  mantra.  Great- 
er than  silence  is  truth. 

The  Creator  stored  the  veritable  essences 
of  the  three  Vedas  in  the  three  letters  that 
make  up  the  sacred  word,  in  the  three  utterances 


THE    PROBLEMS    OP    EDUCATION  175 

that  name  and  form  the  three  worlds,  and 
in  the  three  parts  of  the  Veda-verse 
that  invokes  the  Sun.  Each  part  He  milked 
from  one  Veda.  Whoso  ponders  on  these, 
morning  and  evening,  after  having  learnt 
the  Vedas  previously,  he  verily  studies 
the  whole  of  the  Vedas  every  day.  These  are 
the  gateway  unto  Brahman. 

By  repeated  dwelling  on  their  significance, 
and  tuning  his  desire  and  modelling  his 
thought  to  that  significance,  the  seeker  after 
Brahman  shall,  without  fail,  attain  all 
perfection,  whether  he  discharge  any  other 
duty  or  not ;  for  the  very  name  of  the 
Brahmana  is  "the  friend  of  all  creatures" 
(and  the  Gdyatrl  is  the  prayer  for  the  bless- 
ing of  all  creatures  by  our  radiant  Father 
in  Heaven,  the  Sun). 

But  he  who  performeth  not  the  morning 
sandhya,  nor  the  evening  one,  like  a  Shudra 
should  he  be  excluded  from  all  work  which  re- 
quires the  twice-born  and  regenerate  to  per- 
form successfully.1 


176  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF   THEOSOPHY 

Such  is  the  high  value  placed  on  the  regular 
observance  of  the  san  dhya.  It  is  difficult  to  justify 
that  high  valuation  in  brief  compass.  A  few  lines 
of  thought  may  be  suggested  however.  In  order 
to  appreciate  fully  the  significance  of  the  san  dhya, 
the  student  should,  as  usual  for  all  successful  un- 
derstanding of  the  Ancient  Wisdom,  first  put  him- 
self at  the  point  of  view  from  which  Universal 
Consciousness  (Chit-Shakti,  the  Supreme  Force) 
appears  as  the  supreme  fact  and  force  in  the  World- 
process,  sustaining  it  as  a  whole  ;  and  also,  as 
transmuted  into  many  minor  forces,  (Maya,  Fohat, 
prana,  vital  and  other  electricities,  radio-forces,  heat, 
magnetism  and  endless  other  forms)  bringing  about 
all  its  events  in  detail,  guiding,  governing,  and  in- 
deed creating  all  its  manifestations.  Once  this  is 
realised,  the  performance  of  this  meditation,  at  the 
two  junction-points  of  day  and  night,  is  seen  to  be 
practically  the  only  means  of  securing  power  of 
the  finest  kinds  for  carrying  on  the  work  of  life. 
The  essence  of  it  is  the  drawing  in  (by  means  of  an 
exertion  and  attuning  of  the  individual  conscious- 


3Tf  ^h  I  t'i 


Rira 


Mann,  ii.  83,  76,  77,  78,  81,  87,  103. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  177 

ness,  an  earnest  and  one-pointed  praying  or  wishing 
and  the  putting  of  one's  whole  being  into  a  mood 
of  receptivity),  of  nourishment  and  force  from  some 
great  fount  of  it.  Force,  power,  energy,  cannot 
come  to  one  place  and  be  used  by  an  individual 
without  being  drawn  away  from  some  other  place 
and  individual.  This  fact  we  see  summed  up  in 
the  laws  of  the  conservation  of  energy,  transform- 
ation of  motion,  and  indestructibility  of  matter. 
The  G  a  y  a  t  r  i-prayer  is  only  a  practical  application 
of  this  triple  law  to  the  daily  life  of  the  human 
being,  and  principally  on  the  mental  plane.  This 
"  contemplation  of  the  refulgent  splendor,  the  glori- 
ous radiance,  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  the  Sun," 
the  living  fount  of  all  the  life  on  every  plane  of 
our  world-system  ;  this  prayer  that  "  that  outwell- 
ing  resplendence  may  inspire  our  intelligence,"  in  the 
altruistic  plural  and  not  the  selfish  singular,  may 
inspire  the  collective  intelligence  of  the  whole  of 
humanity,  so  as  to  evoke  sympathetic  co-opera- 
tion and  mutual  good-will  and  help  also — this 
contemplation  and  prayer  are  to  be  practised 
chiefly  on  the  plane  of  mind.  For  intelligence  be- 
longs to  the  plane  of  mental  matter,  mind-stuff, 
(Svah),  which  in  us  is  the  vehicle  of  intelligence. 
The  other  two  planes,  earthl}-  and  astral  (B  h  u  h 
and  Bhuvah),  are  also  named  and  the  prayer 
therefore  covers  them  too ;  but  it  is  mainly  direct- 
ed to  the  intelligence-inspiring  forces  of  the  Sun, 
12 


178  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

for  the  mind  is  the  specific  feature  of  man,  and 
governs  his  life,  or  at  least  ought  to  govern  it, 
on  the  other  two  lower  planes.  If  the  intelligence 
were  perfect,  the  life  of  the  other  two  planes 
would  be  easily  perfected  also.  Right  knowledge 
is  the  basis  of  right  desire ;  and  right  desire  of 
right  action.  Hence  the  s  a  n  d  h  y  a  is  declared  to  be 
best  performed  before  the  physical  Sunrising, 
meeting,  as  it  were,  the  Sun  on  higher  planes, 
and,  finally  only,  bathing  in  it  the  physical  body. 

The  regular  practice  of  the  s  a  n  d  h  y  a  is,  indeed 
in  one  sense,  the  first  steps,  and  the  last  steps 
also,  of  yoga.  The  highest  Gods  and  Rshis  are 
enjoined  to,  and  do,  observe  the  s  a  n  d  h  y  a,  with 
the  same  regularit}^  as  the  child  beginning  the 
alphabet.  At  its  highest,  it  puts  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  aspirant  in  rapport  with  the  Solar 
Consciousness,  which  is  omniscience.  And  because 
the  general  principles  underlying  it  are  true  and 
applicable  on  all  scales,  to  the  beginnings  of 
a  child's  education  as  well  as  the  further  progress 
of  Rshis  and  Devas,  therefore  is  such  great 
stress  laid  upon  its  regular  performance. 

Whether  we  look  upon  it  as  a  utilitarian  training 
in  one-pointedness,  development  of  will-power  and 
mind-control,  or  as  a  real  means  of  drawing  super- 
physical  power;  whether  we  take  it  as  mere 
physical  Sun-bathing,  or  as  an  elevation  of  the 
soul  to  high  thoughts  of  reverence  and  gratitude 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  179 

and  self-surrender  and  prayer  for  the  good  of  all, 
to  the  Author  of  our  being ;  whether  we  take  it  as 
the  highest  and  yet  most  easily  and  most  generally 
available  form  of  esthetic  enjoyment  and  education 
to  see  and  hear  the  glorious  natural  sights  and 
sounds  of  sunrise  and  sunset,  over  waters,  woods 
and  mountains,  or  whether  we  take  it  as  mere 
time-marking,  for  commencing  and  closing  the 
day's  work ;  whether  we  believe  that  the  sounds, 
as  such,  of  the  mantra-words  have  any  vibrant 
potency  for  good,  pronounced  externally  and  inter- 
nally, or  whether  we  regard  them  as  mei'e  devices 
for  fixing  and  concentrating  the  mind  and  sooth- 
ing it  with  rhythmic  repetition  ;  whether  we  think 
that  the  words  of  the  invocation  have  no  other 
than  the  surface  meaning,  or  that  they  open  up 
endless  vistas  of  knowledge  to  the  gaze  of 
the  introspective  consciousness — in  every  way 
there  seems  to  be  only  good  for  the  student 
in  the  regular  practice  of  these  devotions. 

Manu  indicates  that  the  words  of  the  mantra 
do  possess  far  more  than  the  surface  meaning ; 
that  the  triads  of  which  they  are  made  up,  are 
symbolic  of  the  whole  contents  of  the  Vedas. 
From  other  works  we  learn  that  the  three 
letters  that  make  up  the  Sacred  Word  (P  r  a  n  a  v  a) 
stand  for  the  Self,  the  Not-Self,  and  the  Inter- 
play between  them.  Also,  that  the  three  '  pre- 
fixes '  (V  y  a  h  r  t  i  s,  literally,  '  utterances  ')  stand 


180  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

for  the  three  worlds  or  planes  of  matter  in  which 
the  Interplay  takes  place  for  the  majority 
of  the  Spirits  ( J I  v  a  s)  of  the  human  race 
at  the  present  stage.  And,  finally,  we  are 
told  the  significance  of  the  three  parts  of 
the  G  a  y  a  t  r  i-m  a  n  t  r  a.  The  first  indicates  the 
nature  of  the  Supreme  Force  and  of  its  modi- 
fications, the  forms  of  matter  in  which  it 
works,  and  the  laws  governing  their  evolution 
and  involution — all  dealt  with  by  the  Rg-Veda, 
dealing  with  knowledge  (Jnana).  The  second 
part  indicates  the  methods  of  utilising  these 
forces  and  materials  in  various  ways,  known 
technically  as  sacrificial  rites  and  ceremonies 
(y  a  j  n  a  s),  at  which  intercourse  takes  place  to  the 
benefit  of  both  between  men  and  G-ods,  in  terms 
of  astral  and  still  subtler  forms  of  matter,  which 
serve  as  the  vehicles  of  emotions  and  thoughts 
— all  dealt  with  by  the  Yajur-veda,  dealing  with 
action  (Kriya).  The  third  part  indicates  the 
purposes,  necessities  or  motives,  which  do  and 
ought  to  guide  such  utilisation,  the  conse- 
quences of  it  in  pleasure  and  pain,  and  the  desire 
and  fulfilments  of  those  desires  which  the  sacrifices 
subserve — all  dealt  with  by  the  Sama-veda  dealing 
with  desire  (Ichchha).  The  Atharra-veda 
stands  for  the  Summation  of  all  the  three,  and 
is  taken  as  included  in  the  Rg-reda  whenever 
the  "Triad"  of  Vedas,  the  Tray  I,  is  spoken 


THE    PROBLEMS    OP    EDUCATION  181 

of.  All  these  matters  become  ever  clearer  to 
the  student  who  dwells  on  them  day  after  day. 
And  he  who  does  not  do  so,  fails  to  secure, 
or  'loses  again  if  he  did  ever  thus  secure,  the 
introspective  consciousness  which  is  the  distin- 
guishing characteristic  of  the  twice-born. 

As  bath  and  food  are  to  the  physical  body, 
purifying  and  strengthening  it,  day  after  clay, 
so  to  the  astral  and  the  mental  bodies  is  prayer; 
whether  it  be  directed  to  a  Personal  or  an  Im- 
personal Ideal,  whether  it  rely  for  its  fulfilment 
on  an  individual  Deity  external  to  oneself,  or 
on  the  Universal  Deity  immanent  within  every 
living  being. 

The  evening  sandhya  purifieth  the  mind  and 
body,  of  the  preceding  days'  stains,  worries, 
thoughts  of  sin^and  evil.  The  morning  sandhya 
clears  away  the  vices,  astral  and  physical, 
of  the  night  before,  and  gives  new  strength 
to  meet  with  equanimity,  the  trials  and 
troubles  of  the  coming  day.1 

Without  it,  the  mind  goes  on  accumulating  vices 
and  distractions  and  depressions,  day  by  day,  till  it 
sinks  suddenly  into  the  depths  of  confusion  and 
misery  and  sin,  even  as  the  body  that  is  never 
washed  and  cleaned  and  ever  kept  half-starved, 


Manu,  ii.  102. 


182  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

day  after  day,  finally  sinks  under  its  load  of 
foulness  and  feebleness,  into  disease  and  death. 

Such  is  the  most  important  item  of  the  religious 
education  prescribed  by  Manu.  The  student,  he 
says  expressly,  may  or  may  not  do  anything  else, 
in  the  nature  of  rites  and  ceremonies.  Whatever 
else  was  taught,  of  the  nature  of  that  which 
would  now  be  named  religion,  would,  from  the 
earlier  standpoint,  fall  under  physical  or  super- 
physical  science,  yet  even  this  distinction  will 
scarcely  stand  examination.  For,  indeed  the  s  a  n- 
d  h  y  a  is  the  practice  of  the  very  quintessence  of 
Science,  in  its  truest  and  fullest  sense.  It  cannot 
be  repeated  too  often  that  the  modern  distinction 
between  religion  and  science  has  no  existence  in 
the  ancient  ethos,  and  for  the  very  good  reason 
that  the  knowledge  was  unbrokenly  continuous 
between  the  physical  and  superphysical  planes, 
and  there  were  no  belief*  without  reasons. 

Next,  and  next  in  importance1  too,  after  the  train- 
ing in  cleanliness,  in  manners,  in  morals,  and  in 
the  daily  devotions,  comes  intellectual  education. 
In  respect  of  this,  two  facts,  as  said  before,  made 
the  selection  of  the  course  more  easy  and  less 
haphazard,  than  under  the  current  regime.  The 

1  Matthew  Arnold,  one  of  the  great  educationists  of 
England,  in  recent  times,  has  put  forth  the  same 
view  of  the  relative  importance  of  these  items  of 
education. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OP    EDUCATION  183 

future  vocation  of  each  student  was  fairly  well- 
known  before-hand,  and  the  knowledge  needed  for 
the  successful  discharge  of  it  was  in  a  more 
certain  condition.  As  to  the  predetermina- 
tion of  the  vocation,  more  will  be  said  in 
connexion  with  the  division  of  social  labor  by 
caste.  On  the  other  point,  knowledge  had  been 
reduced  to  exactitude  and  compactness  by  the 
employment  of  the  superphysical  powers  possessed 
by  the  Rshis,  and  by  the  use  of  the  aphoristic 
form.  Even  to-day  we  see  the  tendency  growing 
to  reduce  large  bodies  of  knowledge  to  brief 
formulae  ;  to  print  the  more  important  portions  of 
text  in  larger  type  and  to  put  the  less  important, 
as  commentary,  in  smaller  type,  below  the  former, 
in  the  educational  hand-books;  to  spend  more 
care  on  the  table  of  contents  and  the  index 
and  to  print  page-headings  and  paragraph-  head- 
ings in  bolder  type  —  all  serving  the  same  purpose 
of  better  helping  the  memory  and  the  under- 
standing. Manu  says  : 

To  the  illiterate,  the  possessors  of  books 
are  superior.  To  the  possessors  of  books, 
those  who  remember  are  superior.  To  these, 
the  men  that  know  and  understand  the  mu- 
tual relations  of  their  remembered  masses  of 
knowledge  are  superior.  And  even  to  such  are 
they  superior  who  put  their  well-reasoned 
knowledge  into  practice.1 


:  11  xii.  103. 


184  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP   THEOSOPHY 

For  this  reason  great  importance  was  attached 
to  the  committing  to  memory  of  compact  texts. 
Indiscriminate,  scrappy  reading,  of  enormous  num- 
bers of  books  and  newspapers,  which  copy  from 
the  classical  works  whatever  of  good  they  may  con- 
tain, and  add  an  immense  mass  of  words  of  their  own 
that  is  not  good  and  is  inspired  by  unwholesome 
emotions,  r  a  j  a  s  a  and  t  a  m  a  s  a — such  reading 
only  produces  mental  indigestion  and  fevers  and 
diseases,  even  as  indiscriminate  eating  of  un- 
wholesome edibles  produces  physical  disease.  This 
state  of  things  is  beginning  to  be  seen  as  undesir- 
able and  regrettable  even  to-day,  by  the  more 
thoughtful  of  moderns.  Men  and  women  of  the 
older  culture,  who  know  their  classics  by  heart, 
in  the  West  also,  know  how  far  more  useful  are 
those  perfect  expressions  of  thoughts  and  emo- 
tions in  the  most  important  situations  of  life, 
how  much  more  they  really  help  and  soothe  and 
comfort,  in  the  jars  and  frictions  and  misfortunes 
of  the  corporate  life  of  men,  than  omnivorous 
reading  of  unremembered  and  often  very  unwhole- 
some periodicals,  magazines,  newspapers  and  novels 
by  the  thousand. 

The  only  justification,  from  the  standpoint  of 
evolution,  for  this  outburst  of  excessive  activity 
of  the  printing-press  to-day,  is  that  the  feeling  of 
health  has  become  stale  and  a  course  of  fever  is 
necessary  to  make  us  appreciate  it  anew.  Also, 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  185 

it  may  be  said,  from  another  standpoint,  that,  as 
the  diamond-digger  throws  up  mountains  of  dust 
and  rubbish  before  he  finds  the  diamonds,  so  the 
mind  of  the  new  sub-race  has  to  throw  up  millions 
of  books  and  papers  of  a  corresponding  quality, 
before  it  will  find  the  basic  truths. 

To  mention  a  few  of  the  details  of  the  old  scheme  : 
Shabda-Shastra,  the  science  of  sound,  articulate 
and  inarticulate,  (acoustics,  phonetics,  nature-sounds, 
animal  cries,  the  various  stages  of  development 
of  human  languages,  vocal  physiology,  etc.)  was  laid 
great  stress  on,  because  sound  and  ether  (akasha) 
were  first  manifested  in  our  world-system;  and, 
in  their  subtler  and  grosser  aspects,  and  with 
their  potencies,  are  the  substrata1  of  all  other 
forms  of  matter  and  force  and  sense-qualities.  The 
sciences  of  psychology  and  philology  and  physiology 
and  linguistic  evolution  and  human  evolution 
generally,  are  all  very  closely  bound  up  with  each 
other.  This  is  more  apparent  in  the  structure  of 
the  Samskrt  language,  in  its  V  a  i  d  i  k  a  and  other 
forms,  than  in  any  of  the  other  current  languages. 
Therefore  in  teaching  grammar,  philology  and 
vocabularies  in  a  systematised,  thesaurus-like 
form,  the  elements  of  all  other  sciences  were 
also  naturally  imparted,  without  any  special 

1  See  Shankara-Bhashya  on  Mdndiikya-Upanishat  as 
regards  S  tab  da-Sam  any  a,  the  primal  generic  and 
genetic  sound. 


186  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

effort  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  and  taught.  As 
disjointed  sensations  precede,  at  the  child-stage, 
and  the  relating  together  of  them  in  thoughts  suc- 
ceeds, later  on,  at  the  stages  of  youth  and  manhood, 
in  life  generally;  so,  in  education  particularly,  lists 
of  words  indicating  more  or  less  disjointed  things 
and  acts,  and  stimulating  mainly  the  faculties  of 
simple  memory  and  observation,  should  precede, 
and  the  relating  together  of  them,  in  sciences  of 
cause  and  effect,  ought  to  succeed.  For  similar 
reasons,  the  simpler  and  the  more  general  ought 
to  precede  ;  and  the  mere  complex  and  speci- 
alised, succeed.  Therefore  vocabularies  (k  o  s  h  a  s) 
and  simple  grammatical  aphorisms  (v  y  a  k  a  r  a  n  a- 
s  u  t  r  a  s)  were  taught  first,  in  their  easiest  and 
most  mnemonic  forms. 

Other  departments  of  the  Science  of  Sound  — 
rhetoric,  prosody,  etc.  —  were  also  considered  im- 
portant, for  practical  purposes. 

Manu   says  : 

All  meanings,  ideas,  intentions,  desires,  emo- 
tions, items  of  knowledge,  are  embodied  in 
speech,  are  rooted  in  it,  and  branch  out  of 
it.  He,  therefore,  who  misappropriates,  mis- 
applies, and  mismanages  speech,  mismanages 
every  tiling.1 


Fi«<«Ti5  s 

I     iv.  256. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  187 

In  other  words  the  connexion  between  thought 
and  language  is  so  close,  at  our  stage,  that  the 
two  can  be  perfected  only  side  by  side.  And 
he  who  cannot  express  himself  justly  and  gently, 
is  really  thinking  and  feeling  wrongly  also,  and  will 
be  constantly  causing  misunderstandings.  How 
many  discussions  intended  to  elicit  truth,  degenerate 
into  altercations  and  wranglings  because  of  misuse 
of  speech  !  How  many  deadly  feuds  and  even  battles 
and  great  wars  have  arisen  in  history,  out  of 
mere  imperfections  of  spoken  words ! 

For  such  reasons,  much  stress  was  laid  on  the 
science  of  sound.  But  the  spirit  having  grown 
corrupt,  the  reason  for  the  insistence,  viz.,  to 
produce  the  gentle  speech  that  carries  conviction 
and  turns  away  wrath,  has  been  forgotten ;  and 
fearful  verbiage  holds  undisputed  sway  in  post-classical 
Samskrt  literature  in  India,  as  much  as  it  does 
in  the  West,  to-day. 

Also,  the  science  of  logic  and  reasoning  was 
taught  side  by  side  with  the  science  of  language  : 

To  all  the  sciences,  the  knowledge  of  the 
ways  of  speech  and  the  laws  of  thought  is 
the  natural  entrance. 

In  the  eai-lier  years,  when  the  imitative  faculties 
are  strong,  the  memory  and  simple  observation 
were  more  exercised ;  in  the  later  years,  when 
the  causal  faculties  grow  strong,  reason  and  the 


188  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT   OP    THEOSOPHY 

powers  of  subtler  examination  into  the  mutual 
relations  of  things  and  events  were  worked  the 
more.  The  peculiar  nature  of  the  Sainskrt  langu- 
age, deliberately  constructed  to  be  an  instrument 
of  thought,  as  a  tool  specially  fashioned  for  a 
specific  purpose,  and  not  shaping  itself  more  or 
less  haphazard ;  and  the  ease  with  which  the 
language  lends  itself  to  versification,  so  that 
even  works  on  mathematics  are  to  be  found  in 
verse — made  the  work  of  memorising  easy. 

The  study  of  the  Feda-proper  was  interspersed 
with  the  study  of  what  would  now  be  called 
secular  subjects,  A  n  g  a  s ;  but  separate  days  of  the 
fortnight  were  assigned  for  each.  Thus  the 
student's  mind  underwent  a  minimum  of  strain 
and  anxiety,  and  did  not  have  to  think  dis- 
tractedly of  half-a-dozen  subjects  every  day,  but 
could  be  given  wholly  to  one  thing  on  one  day. 

The  posture  prescribed  for  the  hours  of  study,1 
standing  upright,  with  hands  folded  in  front  of  the 
chest,  was  such  as  to  secure  a  maximum  of  collect- 
ed alertness  and  of  chest-expansion,  instead  of  languid 
stooping  over  desks  and  chest-hollowing.  The 
comparatively  little  use  of  written  books,  especial- 
ly in  the  earlier  years  of  study,  and  the  large 
use  of  the  voice  and  the  memory,  produced 
powerful  lungs  instead  of  weak  eyes,  besides  all 

1  Manu,    ii.    192. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  189 

the  economy  of  national  and  individual  money 
and  energy  that  is  implied  by  the  minimisa- 
tion of  written  books  and  papers. 

The  hours  of  study  were  after  the  morning 
and  after  the  evening  s  a  n  d  h  y  a,  i.e.,  the  fore- 
noons and  the  late  evenings,  leaving  the  after- 
noons for  the  begging  of  food,  for  rest  after  meals, 
for  walks  and  wanderings  on  business  or  pleasure, 
games,  domestic  services  of  the  Guru's  house- 
hold, and  so  forth.  In  this  fashion  were  avoided 
the  curses  of  modern  civilisation,  neurasthenia 
and  dyspepsia  and  diabetes,  due  largely  to  over- 
working of  the  nervous  system,  and  that  too  imme- 
diately after  meals,  when  the  vital  currents  are 
most  wanted  by  the  digestive  organs. 

After   tending    the    tires,  morning  and  even- 

ing, and  performing  the  saudhya  and  saluting 

the    elders,    the    student     should   approach   the 

teacher   and   perform   his    studies   attentively.1 

The    holidays     were     short     and    frequent  ;     and 

many    depended      upon    atmospheric     electric    and 

magnetic    conditions,    to    which    were    given    special 

importance  as  bearing  on  special  studies.     The  vibra- 

tions   set    up   by  the   chant   of   one    Veda  were  not 

allowed    to   mingle  with    the  vibrations    of  another. 


i 

Yajnatialkya,  I.  ii.  17,  18. 


190  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Occasions  of  sorrowing  or  rejoicing  in  the  neighbor- 
ing family  houses  were  also  taken  into  account,  thus 
keeping  up  sympathetic  relations  with  the  public 
constantly.1 

The  education  that  is  gained  by  extensive 
travelling  seems  to  have  been  postponed  to  the 
later  stages  of  life,  the  household,  the  retirement, 
the  renunciation.  Also,  while  the  simpler  ways 
of  life  made  much  expense  on  buildings  and 
furniture  and  apparatus  unnecessary,  and  so 
secured  the  advantages  of  financial  economy  and 
of  a  much  wider  spread  of  education  in  what 
are  called  the  humanities,  there  was,  presumably, 
a  comparative  dearth  of  that  kind  of  education 
in  physical  and  technical  science  which  to-day 
requires  mechanical  appliances.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  great  capital  towns  however, 
such  mechanical  science  and  art  as  was  sub- 
sidiary mainly  to  military  and  secondarily  to  civil 
purposes  seems  to  have  been  carefully  cultivated. 
As  to  whether  this  comparative  lack  was  or 
was  not  an  advantage  is  debatable.  The  use 
and  development  of  machinery  seem,  in  the 
general  scheme  of  evolution,  to  go  side  by  side 
with  the  growth  of  the  separative  intelligence, 
of  egoism,  differentiation,  heterogeneity  and 
complex  organisation.  So  far  as  this  is  good, 

,  ii.  105,  106;  iii.  108  ;  iv.  101-127. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  191 

that  must  be  good  also.  When  this  begins  to  err 
by  excess  psychologically,  that  becomes  mischievous 
also  economically.  It  is  a  necessary  stage,  to  be 
passed  through,  not  clung  to.  The  preceding 
stage  was  one  of  fulfilment  of  needs  by  the 
mere  wishing.  The  succeeding  will  be  the  same, 
on  a  higher  level,  accomplishment  by  willing. 

According  to  Manu,  the  use  of  large  machines,  for 
private  commercial  purposes  is  to  be  condemned  and 
discouraged.1 

It  constitutes  a  minor  sin,  and  expiation  is  pre- 
scribed. This  is,  of  course,  very  startling  to  the 
modern  mind.  And,  yet,  not  so  very  startling 
either.  The  latest  modern  mind  is  beginning  to 
react  in  favor  of  hand-made  goods  of  all  sorts,  as 
against  machine-made  ones.  The  reasons  may  be 
studied  in  the  books  and  periodical  articles  of 
writers  on  the  subject,  especially  those  who  have 
considered  the  relations  of  machinery  and  art. 
Briefly,  if  the  intelligence  runs  towards  machinery, 
it  unavoidably  runs  away  from  soul,  from  super- 
physics,  from  finer  art.  There  is  an  apparent 
advantage,  at  first,  in  the  use  of  machinery.  It  seems 
to  make  the  struggle  of  life  easier.  But  this  ap- 
pearance is  false  and  temporary.  In  the  long 
run,  it  makes  life  more  competitive  and  bitter  and 
vulgar.  Hence  the  over-outward  tendencies  and 


xi.  63. 


192  MAM"    IX    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

ways  were  discouraged,  in  the  economical  as  well 
as  the  educational  administration  of  the  national  life. 
The  fact  that  large  machines  are  discouraged  and 
not  small  ones  is  noteworthy.  Small  machines 
capable  of  management  by  single  persons  do  not 
oppose  such  obstacles  to  the  development  of  indivi- 
dual taste  and  artistic  capacity. 

One  point  more  may  be  dealt  with  before 
passing  on  from  education  to  livelihood. 

Why  is  so  much  stress  laid  on  the  subjective 
sciences  and  the  introspective  consciousness,  which 
are  to  be  taught  to  and  invoked  in  all  students 
twice-born,  rather  than  on  the  kindergarten 
system  and  the  objective  sciences,  so  much 
thought  of  iiow-a-days,  and  which  seem,  in  the 
earlier  time,  to  have  been  divided  up  between 
the  three  main  types  according  to  their  future 
vocations  ?  Apparently  for  somewhat  the  same 
reasons  for  which  the  Science  of  the  Self 
( A  d  h  y  a  t  in  a-Y  i  d  y  a)  is  made  the  foundation 
and  guide  of  all  other  sciences  (Vidyas),  the 
same  reasons  for  which  Duty  (J)harma)  is  em- 
phasised rather  than  Passion  (K  a  m  a).  The 
quotation  Avill  be  remembered  which  was  made, 
a  little  while  ago,  from  Professor  James  as  to  the 
successive  appearance  and  disappearance  of  transi- 
ent instincts.  His  suggestion  is  that  each  in- 
stinct, as  it  appears,  should  be  seized  hold  of 
and  developed  and  so  made  a  habit  and  a 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  193 

permanent  acquisition,  otherwise  the  iron  will  cool 
and  the  opportunity  for  shaping  be  lost.  There  is 
no  doubt  a  certain  amount  of  truth  in  the 
suggestion.  But  there  is  the  danger  also  of  a 
misapprehension  and  misapplication.  If  we  look 
into  the  reason  of  this  rising  to  the  surface 
and  then  sinking  down  again  of  instincts,  we 
find  that  it  is  due  to  the  law  of  recapitulation, 
in  the  individual,  of  the  past  and  also  of  the 
future  history  of  the  whole  race — the  reason  of 
that  law  of  recapitulation  being  the  law  of 
analogy,  and  of  that  again,  the  law  of  unity. 
The  small  man  is  as  the  great  man  because  the 
two  are  one.  Some  instincts  then  must  be  such  as 
have  had  their  use  in  the  past,  and  which  we 
do  not  require  to  arouse  again  and  fix  into  a 
habit  now  ;  and  must  not,  on  pain  of  retrogression. 
There  are  others  which  belong  to  the  present, 
and  others  which  belong  to  the  future.  These 
should  obviously  receive  greater  attention  from 
pedagogues.  Moreover,  to  make  all  alive,  and 
work  them  all  equally,  is  not  only  not  in 
accordance  with  the  general  plan  of  evolution, 
but  is  impossible.  There  is  not  enough  vital 
energy  available.  We  must  therefore  strike  the 
iron,  not  every  time  it  is  hot,  but  when  it  is 
hottest,  for  our  special  purpose.  We  must  not 
endeavor  to  give  it  every  shape,  but  only  the 
best  we  can  think  of.  If  the  earlier  instincts 
13 


194  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

are  developed  fully,  they  will  use  up  the  available 
vital  energy  and  the  later  instincts  will  not 
develop  at  all,  or  do  so  only  imperfectly.  From 
the  ancient  standpoint,  the  introspective  conscious- 
ness, the  Reason  which  strings  together  all  the 
many  in  the  One,  which  is  the  means  of  securing 
the  Science  of  the  Self,  is  the  highest  and 
finest  shape  which  can  be  given  to  the  dull 
clay  of  man.  Hence  the  prominence  given  to 
those  sciences  and  practices,  especially  the  san- 
d  h  y  a,  that  lead  to  it. 

Not  by  any  means  that  the  others  are  con- 
temned. That  is  another  error  of  exaggeration, 
opposite  to  the  extreme  which  flouts  the  Science 
of  the  Self.  All  these  other  sciences  and  arts 
are  clearly  provided  for  also.  But  they  are  as 
clearly  regarded  as  minor  and  subsidiary  to  the 
One  Science.  If  we  can  have  both  earth  and 
heaven — that  is  perfection.  But  if  we  can  have 
only  one,  then  heaven  rather  than  earth. 

Be  it  repeated  here  that,  for  the  winning  of 
the  living  introspective  consciousness,  unsullied 
b  r  a  h  m  a  c  h  a  r  y  a  is  indispensable.  They  who  are 
so  unfortunate  as  to  soil  their  virgin  purity  before 
achieving  Insight,  will  find  it  very  hard,  perhaps 
impossible,  in  their  present  life,  to  realise  the 
living  power  and  virtue  of  Metaphysic,  the 
Science  of  the  Self.  However  otherwise  accom- 
plished they  may  be,  however  full  of  reading, 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  195 

yet  they  will  always  suffer  from  the  vague 
feeling,  the  doubt  and  uncertainty,  that  it  is 
perhaps,  after  all,  '  mere  words '.  The  reason  is 
this  :  The  individual  Mind  (M  a  n  a  s)  combining 
with  Selfish  Passion  (K  a  m  a)  finds  perpetuation  in 
the  physical  self,  creates  physical  progeny,  and 
exhausts  the  forces  of  the  physical  body  which 
gradually  dies.  The  same  Mind  combining  with 
Unselfish  Reason  (B  u  d  d  h  i),  the  inverse  of  Passion, 
finds  perpetuation  for  itself  in  the  Higher  Self, 
A  t  m  a.  All  the  power  and  passion  of  the  soul, 
all  possible  intensity  of  maddened  yearning,  craving, 
searching,  are  needed  for  the  supreme  effort  which 
will  bring  the  individual  Mind  into  the  arms  of 
Universal  Spirit.  This  is  possible,  generally  speak- 
ing, only  to  the  virgin  soul  (the  Kumara-J  1  v  a), 
who  has  not  frittered  away  his  energy  and  passion 
and  let  his  consciousness  run  into  the  physical 
body  so  largely  as  is  necessary  for  the  purposes 
of  physical  lusting.1 

1  This,  which  has  been  said  in  terms  of  the  '  prin- 
ciples '  of  Theosophical  literature,  A  t  m  a,  buddhi, 
m  a  n  a  s,  k  a  m  a,  s  t  h  u  1  a-d  e  h  a,  might  be  translated 
also  into  terms  of  the  ^attvic  sub-divisions  of  the 
s  t  h  u  1  a-d  e  h  a,  corresponding  respectively  with  the 
main  '  principles  '.  '  Fire '  with  k  water, '  heat  with 
moisture,  tends  to  stimulate  reproduction  in  terms  of 
'earth'.  'Fire'  with  'air'  stimulates  reproduction  in 
terms  of  'akasha-ether'.  Minuter  details  may  be  worked 
out  in  terms  of  the  seven  or  more  sub-divisions,  of  any 
plane.  E.g.,  we  may  say :  The  individual  in  whom,  on  the 
physical  plane,  in  the  normal  working  state,  the  sub- 


196  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHV 

Such  are  the  outlines  of  the  principles  which 
seem  to  have  governed  the  education  of  twice- 
born  boys  in  the  olden  time,  not  the  quarrelsome 
and  disorderly  medieval  ages,  but  the  real  olden 
time,  before  the  Mahabharata. 

But  what  about  the  education  of  those  not 
twice-born,  and  of  the  girls  of  all  castes  ? 

There  is  no  regular  education  provided  by  Manu 
for  the  fourth  type  of  mind  and  body,  viz.,  the 
hand-worker,  or  Shudra.  The  Shudra  is  the  soul 
who  is  too  young  to  understand  the  Science  of 
the  Self.  His  status,  for  the  whole  life-time  of 
the  body  is,  therefore,  what  the  status  of  the  other 
three  is  till  the  second  birth  : 

Everyone  is  born  a  Shudra,  and  remains 
such  till  he  receives  the  sacrament  of  the 
Veda  and  is  born  a  second  time  thereby.' 

divisions  of  '  prthvi-tattva  '  (which  corresponds  with 
the  physical  body  as  a  whole)  corresponding  to  a  d  ir 
anupadaka  and  akasha  (i.e.,  the  highest  three 
ethers  of  Occult  Chemistry')  are  more  developed,  will 
realise  metaphysic,  in  the  waking  physical  consciousness, 
better  ;  in  whom  the  sub-divisions  corresponding  to 
a  n  11  p  a  d  a  k  a,  akasha,  v  a  y  u  (or  the  second,  third 
and  fourth  ethers),  are  more  developed  —  the  higher 
superphysics  ;  akasha,  v  a  y  u,  a  g  n  i,  (or  the  third 
and  fourth  ethers  and  gaseous  matter)  —  superphysics 
proper;  vayu,  agni,  apas  (or  the  fourth  ether  and 
gaseous  and  liquid  matters  —  the  lower  superphysics  ; 
agni,  apas,  prthvi  —  physical  powers;  and  so  on, 
\vith  endless  permutations  and  combinations. 


and  SjyJTf?  {HHM44I4-M  T  -»H^%  II  Mmm,  {{.  172. 


THK    PROBLEMS   OF    EDUCATION  197 

The  Shudra's  education,  therefore,  was  by  do- 
ing what  he  was  told  to  do,  and  by  the  general 
influence  and  associations  of  the  home-life  of  the 
household  of  which  he  was  an  organic  part,  in 
the  same  way  as  the  children's  education  was  before 
they  went  to  the  Teacher ;  and  also,  by  means  of 
periodical  expositions  of  the  Puranas,  which  were 
expressly  composed  by  the  Rshis  for  the  benefit 
of  those  who  had  not  strength  of  mind  enough 
to  hold  the  Vedas.  These  expositions  were  the 
originals  of  present-day  popular  lectures,  and 
popular  scientific  and  literary  journals  and  maga- 
zines. At  these  lectures  on  the  Puranas,  which 
have  continued  down  to  our  own  day  in  India, 
though  the  spirit  is  wholly  changed  and  the  wisdom 
and  instructiveness  departed,  women  and  children 
and  all  the  men  who  had  not  the  powers  and 
opportunities  for  the  regular  education,  attended 
and  listened  eagerly — as  is  evident  from  the 
descriptions  of  such  periodic  meetings  in  the  Puranas 
themselves.  How  liberal  the  education  is  which  may 
be  derived  from  the  Puranas,  when  expounded  by 
a  competent  teacher,  can  be  appreciated  only  by 
those  who  have  studied  them  with  the  help  of 
Theosophical  literature,  in  the  absence  of  the  older 
commentaries.  That  the  Puranas  are  the  necessary 
means  to  an  adequate  understanding  of  the  Vedas 
has  been  already  mentioned.  And,  indeed,  all  the 
theoretical  and  other  knowledge,  contained  in  the 


198  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT   OF   THEOSOPHY 

Vedas,  of  the  nature  of  the  c  humanities,'  is  contained 
in  the  Puranas — only  the  secrets  which  conferred 
practical  superphysical  powers  are  omitted.  The 
current  idea  that  the  Shudra  was  despised  and 
trampled  upon  is  only  a  false  projection,  b}~  the 
modern  mind,  upon  the  screen  of  ancient  society,  of 
the  conditions  which  that  modern  mind  is  itself 
suffering  from — conditions  born  of  the  egoistic 
violence  of  those  passions  which  are  the  brood  of 
selfishness  and  hate  and  exclusive  appropriation. 
In  the  earlier  days — not  the  mediaeval — if  the  old 
books  are  to  be  believed  as  a  whole,  and  not  only 
in  respect  of  those  parts  which  fit  in  with  current 
theories,  the  Shudra  was  no  more  despised,  no 
less  loved,  than  the  children,  the  sons  and  daugh- 
ters, of  a  well-conducted  home  of  to-day.  More 
on  this  will  be  said  in  connexion  with  the  system 
of  castes.  Here  it  is  enough  to  say  that  there  is 
good  reason  to  believe  that  the  Shudra  of  the 
olden  days  stood  on  a  higher  level  of  real  mind- 
and  soul-education  than  the  bulk  of  his  compeers 
of  to-day;  and  in  every  case  of  exceptional 
qualifications,  he  was  allowed  to  live  and  study 
like  the  twice-born,  with  certain  restrictions,  which 
were  far  smaller  and  more  rational  than  many 
disabilities  imposed  on  communities  and  individuals 
by  social  and  other  pressure  to-day  in  the  most 
civilised  countries. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  199 

The  Shudra  cannot  commit  a  sin  (which 
degrades,  in  the  same  sense  as  a  twice-born 
person  can.  This  is  his  advantage.  His  dis- 
advantage is  that)  he  cannot  be  given  mantra 
sacraments.  He  has  no  compulsory  duty  to  per- 
form (dharma),  but  if  he  does,  there  is  no 
prohibition  at  all.  Indeed,  the  Shudras  who  wish 
to  gather  dharma  and  to  learn  its  ordinances, 
and  follow  the  ways  of  the  good  among  the 
twice-born,  and  perform  the  five  daily  sacri- 
fices, of  study,  etc.,  but  only  without  the 
secret  mantras  —  they  do  not  infringe  law,  but 
rather  gain  the  approbation  of  the  good  and 
receive  honor.  ' 

We  see  in  this  that  all  study,  except  that  of 
the  secret  mantras,  was  also  open  to  every  Shudra 
who  desired  it. 

On  the  subject  of  women's  education,  much 
has  been  already  written  in  recent  times,  and  many 
texts  collected,  to  prove  that  they  were  by  no 
means  kept  uneducated  and  wholly  ignorant  of 
the  larger  life  of  the  world.  At  the  same  time, 
it  is  clear  that  girls  were  not  to  be  taken 
through  the  same  course  as  boys.  What  is  right 
and  proper  to  teach  to  any  one  —  this  is  a  question 
of  needs.  According  to  the  ends  we  set  before  us 


II  Mamt,  x.  126,  127. 


200  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

must  be  our  means.  If  the  racial  consciousness  is 
tired  of  the  different-sexed  condition  and  wants 
uniformity  of  physiological  and  psychological 
functioning,  as  in  the  earlier  races,  then,  by  all 
means,  let  us  have  uniformity  of  bringing  up. 
But  this  is  very  doubtful,  and  will  continue  to  be 
doubtful  for  long  ages  yet.  In  the  meanwhile — 
confusion  and  competition,  the  desolate  wrang- 
lings  of  man's  rights  and  woman's  rights,  and 
an  endless  war  of  words  as  to  who  is  superior  and 
who  is  inferior.  As  well  try  to  settle  whether 
the  right  half  of  the  body  is  superior  or  inferior 
to  the  left  half.  If  debate  on  this  there  must 
be,  then  it  were  much  to  be  wished  that  it  could 
be  conducted  without  such  waste  of  emotion.  But, 
perhaps,  that  is  not  possible;  for  the  egoism  and 
the  emotion  and  their  elations  and  frustrations  are 
themselves  the  most  important  factors  in  the  gra- 
dual change  of  mood  in  the  racial  consciousness, 
and  are  necessary  to  begin  even  at  this  early 
stage,  in  order  to  bring  it  about  at  the  end 
of  long  ages.  A  new  adjustment  of  the^  earth's 
surface  cannot  take  place  without  vast  throes  and 
sinkings  and  upheavals  and  volcanic  fires  and 
tidal  waves.  No  more,  it  would  seem,  can  any 
important  corresponding  change  in  the  ways  of 
human  life  be  secured  by  a  quiet  committee-debate 
and  resolution,  and  without  agonised  struggles. 
Under  Manu's  scheme,  this  kind  of  egoistic,  com- 


THE    PROBLEMS    OP    EDUCATION  201 

petitive  equality   of  man  and  woman    is   not   contem- 
plated.    His  ideal  for  the  two  is  that  of  identity,   not 
equality.     Indeed,  in  a  broader  sense,    such  is   His 
ideal  for  the   whole  human  race.     In  Manu  we  find 
no  narrow  parochialism,  no  provincialism,    not   even 
nationalism,    but  only   Humanism,  the  organisation, 
into    one    Joint    Family,  of  all  the  types,    all  the 
families,  races    and  sub-races,   of    the    whole  Human 
Race — or  even   still  more,  that  wider  same-sighted- 
ness  which  sees  all  the  Kingdoms  of  Nature  ever  in- 
dissolubly  linked  into  one  continuous  chain  of  World- 
Process.      So    much  so    is    this    the  case  that  the 
younger  modern  nations,  unable  to  discover  in  Manu 
that   idea  of  nationalism   which  they  have  just  dis- 
covered for  the  first  time  in  their  own  life,  to  their 
great  glee   and   self-satisfaction,    unable  yet  to  look 
beyond   nationalism  into  the  vaster  stretches  of  soul 
of  the  Ancient  Ethos  — are  clamourously   proclaiming, 
like  children,    the  merits   of  their  extraordinary  find 
of  the  multi-colored   shells  on   the  sea-shore,  and  the 
consequent    superiority   of  themselves    and    the  in- 
feriority   of  all    others,    blissfully  oblivious    of  the 
aged  and  enfeebled  grand-parents'  voyagings  across 
the  whole  ocean,  and  their  divings  into  its  deepest 
depths,   and  their  findings  of  gold    and   gems.     If, 
then,  Manu's  ideal  is  such  for  all  the  Human  Race 
with  all  its  widely  divergent  forms    and  types    and 
colors   and   capacities,    if    He   regards   them   all   as 
organs  of    the    same    identical    organism,  how  much 


202  MA.N0    IX    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

more  must  His  ideal  be  such  for  man  and  woman, 
spouse  and  spouse,  brother  and  sister,  within  the 
same  house.  The  two  are  regarded  as  supplementary 
halves  of  one  whole.  And,  for  the  time  the  dif- 
ference of  sex  lasts,  the  vocation  of  the  two  is 
accepted  as  different  in  the  same  way  as  the  function 
of  the  two  halves  of  the  one  brain,  of  the  two 
halves  (the  eye-balls)  of  the  one  organ  of  vision, 
of  the  two  halves  (the  ears)  of  the  one  organ  of 
audition,  etc,  is  different.  And  preparation  for  the 
performance  thereof  is  accordingly  different  also. 
But  as  the  vocations  were  not  wholly  different, 
but  only  mutually  complementary,  therefore  the 
education  was  not  really  different  either : 

All  the  sacraments  prescribed  for  the  boys 
are  prescribed  for  the  girls  also.  But  they 
have  to  be  performed  without  Veda-mantras 
(which  their  peculiarity  of  psycho-physical  con- 
stitution, their  special  qualifications  and  voca- 
tions prevent  them  from  using  successfully). 
The  marriage-sacrament  however  has,  obviously, 
for  bride  and  bridegroom  alike,  to  be  perform- 
ed with  Veda-mantras.  For  the  girl,  resi- 
dence with  the  husband  and  helping  him  in  his 
duties  and  learning  from  him  takes  the  place 
of  the  boy's  residence  with  and  learning  from 
the  Teacher.  Her  tending  of  the  household 
fires  under  his  instruction  becomes  the  equiva- 
lent of  his  tending  of  the  fires  in  the  Teacher's 
family.  But,  otherwise,  generally  speaking,  the 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  203 

girl  should  be  nurtured,  brought  up,  and  educated 
in  the  same  way  and  as   diligently  as  the   boy.1 

There  is  absolutely  no  prohibition  against  girls 
following  the  same  full  course  of  education  as  the 
boys  of  their  caste  ;  and  that  the  implicit  per- 
mission was  availed  of,  in  cases  here  and  there, 
is  amply  proved  by  the  classical  stories  of  learned 
women.  But  the  general  routine  was  different, 

The  education  given  to  boy  and  girl  was  partly 
different  in  kind  and  partly  in  degree.  Different 
in  kind  —  in  that  the  one  was  prepared  for  the 
life  outside  the  home  predominantly,  for  teaching, 
for  battling,  for  trading  ;  and  the  other  for 
the  life  within  the  home  principally,  for  beauti- 
fying, for  nourishing  and  fostering,  for  being 
a  perpetual  fountain  of  tenderness  and  hap- 
piness. Different  in  kind  —  in  that  the  Brah- 
mana-girl  was  given  more  book-education  ;  the 
Kshattriya-girl,  more  training  in  active  exer- 
cises ;  the  Vaishya-girl,  in  economical  matters  ; 
though,  in  each  case,  less  so  than  her  brother  > 
and  all  within  the  home  itself,  barring  the  ex- 
ceptional instances.  In  this  way,  each  became 


*iH»HI 

II 


Mann,  ii.  66,  67. 


204  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

more  fitted  for  the  maintenance  of  the  characteris- 
tic public  aspect  of  her  future  husband's  home 
also,  as  an  educational,  an  administrative,  or  a 
mercantile  house.  Also,  generally  speaking,  girls 
seem  to  have  been  given  more  training  than  boys 
in  the  fine  arts,  for  which  their  psycho-physical 
constitution  fits  them  better — though  of  course,  the 
instruction  of  boys  in  this  respect  was  not  neglected. 
The  Bhagavata  records  that  Krshna  studied  all  the 
1  sixty-four  arts  ' — subsidiary  to  the  Sama-  Veda — 
with  his  preceptor  Sandipani.  With  such  training  in 
the  arts  which  beautify  life  and  enhance  its  enjoy- 
ments, husband  and  wife  would  become  all-sufficing 
to  each  other,  and  placed  above  the  need  of  seeking 
for  aesthetic  delights  outside  the  home.  Such  a 
condition  of  the  home-life  would  naturally  minimise 
social  vice.  For,  as  the  Yoga-Sutra  says:  "Attrac- 
tion accompanies  pleasure";  and  pleasures  outside 
the  home  mean  attractions  outside  it  also.  And 
where  the  life  is  not  dominated  by  the  Spirit,  the 
attractions  must  be  matterwards  and  not  soulwards, 
vicious  and  not  elevating.  But  where  both  pleasure 
and  love  are  between  the  spouses  and  within  the 
home,  then  that  home  becomes  a  veritable  heaven  on 
earth,  matter  transfigured  into  Spirit,  joys  of  soul  and 
joys  of  sense  both  achieved  at  once.  Stories  about 
the  wives  of  the  Rshis  being  versed  in  the  details  of 
the  Science  of  the  Self  are  well-known.  So  also  of 
Kshattriya  women  accompanying  their  husbands  to 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  205 

battle.  One  out  of  the  Mahabharata  may  be  taken 
as  a  typical  instance,  as  it  mentions  regular  instruc- 
tion being  given  to  a  Kshattriya-girl  in 
chariot-driving. 

When  Arjuna  marries  Krshna's  sister  Subhadra 
secretly,  with  his  and  her  consent,  and  drives 
away  from  the  capital  town  of  pvaraka,  with 
Subhadra  in  his  chariot,  the  keepers  of  the  gate 
pursue  him,  thinking  he  has  stolen  her.  He 
turns  to  fight  with  them  and  Subhadra  acts  as 
his  charioteer  : 

Sweet-speaking  Subhadra  was  highly  delight- 
ed to  see  that  force  of  excited  elephants,  rush- 
ing cars  and  horses,  and  challenging  warriors. 
She  said  to  Arjuna,  in  great  glee  :  For  long 
had  I  in  mind  to  drive  thy  chariot,  in  the 
midst  of  the  battle,  while  thou  fightest  —  thou 
who  art  possessed  of  the  great  soul,  and  might 
of  limb,  and  the  shining  aura  and  ojas  and 
tejas.  I  shall  he  thy  charioteer,  O  Son  of 
Prtha  !  for  I  have  been  well-instructed  in  the 
art.i 


Mahdbhilnifo. 


206  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

And  Arjuna  consented  and  battled,  and  Subhadrii 
managed  the  reins  and  the  horses  with  skill ; 
and,  of  course,  the  t\vo  came  out  victorious ;  and 
then  the  others  quite  properly  inferred  that  it 
could  not  but  be  Arjuna,  the  beloved  friend  of 
their  Lord,  for  who  else  could  have  prevailed 
over  them  ?  and  there  was  peace-making  and 
rejoicing  and  a  great  public  celebration  of  the 
nuptials.  The  way  in  which  Draupadi  managed 
Yudhishthira's  vast  household,  and  was  in  charge 
of  the  whole  income  and  expenditure,  is  described 
in  full  in  the  Great  Epic.  Similar  stories  about 
high-souled  and  well-educated  Yaishya  women  of 
the  past  may  be  found  in  the  Padma-Purana  and 
the  Katha-Sarit-Sagfira. 

Such  incidents  out  of  the  old  stories  give  us 
indication  as  to  the  ways  of  girls'  education.  And 
indeed  when  we  come  to  examine  the  matter 
closely,  we  find  that  the  difference  between  man 
and  woman,  in  respect  of  essential  education,  has, 
on  the  whole,  never  been,  and  is  not  to-day,  in 
India,  so  very  great  as  is  made  out  for  polemic 
purposes  and  for  special,  temporary  reasons.  Barring 
exceptional  cases,  and  barring  technical  education, 
the  general  average  in  any  given  typical  family 
for  both  the  men  and  women,  in  respect  of  real, 
essential  education,  the  education  of  the  soul,  will 
be  found  very  much  the  same.  Indeed,  probably, 
the  woman's  average  will  be  higher.  Ability  to 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  207 

talk  and  to  write  a  new  language  fluently,  or 
even  to  know  a  large  number  of  facts,  is  not  the 
whole  of  education,  nor  even  the  most  important 
part  of  it ;  and  even  in  this  respect  is  not  more 
than  one  generation  later  for  girls,  in  India,  than 
that  of  boys.  To  know,  even  though  it  be  only 
instinctively,  more  in  the  way  of  feeling  than  of 
knowledge — to  know  the  whence,  the  whither, 
the  why,  of  individual  life,  the  deathlessness  of 
the  soul,  and  the  unerring  action  of  the  Law 
of  Karma;  to  be  full  of  faith  in  heaven,  of  love  for 
the  family,  of  hope  for  the  future,  of  patience 
under  suffering,  of  contentment  in  the  present;  to 
lie  able  to  help  and  soothe  and  comfort  one's 
fellow-beings  in  their  griefs  and  misfortunes ;  to  be 
able  to  understand  the  heart  of  human  problems 
intuitively — this  is  real  soul-education,  and  more 
valuable  than  mere  mind-information.  And  this  is 
the  birthright  of  woman  more  than  that  of  man. 
Of  course,  the  two  kinds  of  education  are  halves, 
and  together  make  the  perfect  whole.  And  such 
also  are  man  and  woman.  But  if  both  cannot 
be  had,  the  inner  soul-quality  of  selfless  devotion 
as  well  as  the  outer  intellectual  finish  and 
polish  and  gracefulness  of  speech  and  gait — 
and  if  some  change  from  the  present  condition  is 
felt  to  be  indispensable — then  indeed  it  is  bet- 
ter to  refine  mind  into  soul,  than  to  coarsen  soul 
into  mind ;  to  make  man  less  egoistic,  than  to 


208  MAXtJ    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

make  woman  more  militant.  Manu's  ideal  is  gentle 
men  and  gentle  women,  each  filling  a  distinct 
place  in  the  domestic  and  the  social  scheme ;  never 
entering  into  conflict  with  each  other,  but  ever 
supplementing  the  qualities  of  each  other  and  ever 
making  life's  way  smoother  for  each  other.  And 
that  this  may  be,  he  indicates  different  kinds  of 
training  for  the  two  and  not  precisely  the  same. 

It  is  expressly  declared  in  the  Upanishats  l  that 
the  Spirit  (j  I  v  a)  has  no  special  sex,  or,  has  both 
sexes  at  once,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  combination  of  Spirit 
and  Matter  (Pratyagatma  and  Mulaprakrti). 
And  the  Puranas  show  that,  even  in  the  outer 
body,  the  same  j  I  v  a  now  takes  up  one  and  now 
another ;  that  in  the  race  also,  difference  of  sex 
is  one  of  man3r  passing  phases ;  and  that  the  next 
phase,  after  the  present,  will  be,  psychologically, 
womanwards,  in  the  direction  of  Reason  (b  u  d  d  h  i) 
as  distinguished  from  Mind  (man  as).  Consequent- 
ly, in  the  thought  of  the  Primal  Law-giver,  there 
could  not  possibly  be  any  idea  of  any  inherent 
superiority  or  inferiority  of  either  to  the  other.  Both 
mean  only  so  many  experiences  to  be  gone  through 
by  each  Spirit,  in  order  that  out  of  love  physical 
may  emerge,  not  the  dreary,  weary,  altercations  of 
egoism,  but  the  joys  of  the  Love  Divine  of  which 
the  Persian  poets  have  sung  : 

1  Shre}dshvata,ii.   iv.  3;   v.  10;  vi.  0. 


THE    PROBLEMS    OF    EDUCATION  209 

\Veleome!    0  Love  Divine  !    Thy  happy  madnc->. 

Sole  remedy  of  all  Life's  ills  and  sadness, 
Prime  antidote  of  pride  and  prudery, 

Art.  Science.  Scripture     all  ;ir1  tiiou  to  mo! 

Vedas,  A  vest  a,  Bible  and  Qur'au, 

Temple,  pagoda,  church  and  K'aba-stone 

All  the.si-  and  more  my  heart  can  tolerate, 
Since  my  religion  no\v  is  Love  alone  ! 


f? 


tiNHY*T  T 


14 


LECTURE  IV. 

THE  PROBLEMS  OP  FAMILY  LIFE  AND  ECONOMICS,  OF 
GOVERNMENT  AND  OF  RELIGION 


'ro 


II 
Manu,  v\.  36;  xii.  91.  T2.J. 

Having  studied  the  eternal  science  embodied  in  the 
scriptures,  in  the  right  spirit  of  holiness  ;  having  reared 
up  children  virtuously  ;  having  sacn'ficed  his  eneniif  s 
to  the  utmost  for  the  service  of  Gods  and  men  ;  let  the 
child  of  Manu  offer  up  his  mind  unto  Liberation. 

He  who  beholdeth  all  beings  in  Himself,  as  Himself, 
he  who  beholdeth  Himself  in  all  beings,  he  who  therefore 
ever  sacrificeth  Himself  unto  Himself,  worketh  for  Him- 
self, for  there  is  no  other  —  he  verily  knoweth  and  doeth 
all  P  harm  a,  he  never  can  err  in  any  duty,  he  under- 
standeth  the  sole  secret  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  the 
Realm  of  the  Secondless  Self.  He  who  thus  beholdeth 
all  selves  as  the  One  Self,  as  Himself,  He  becometh  All, 
he  becometh  Brahman,  He  becometh  what  he  ever  was. 
is  and  shall  be,  the  Highest  God,  the  Universal  Self  of 
All. 


Our     last     meeting    was     occupied     wholly     with 
Manu's   treatment   of   educational   problems   in     the 


KAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  211 

Brahmach&ri  stage  of  life.  From  his  standpoint, 
they  are  probably  the  most  important  too.  Next 
after  these  methods  of  best  development  and 
fullest  training  of  the  psycho-physical  individual, 
come  considerations  of  the  domestic  life,  including 
conjugal  and  parental  relations,  sanitation  and 
population,  leading  on  to  economics  —  all  falling 
within  the  second  stage  of  life,  the  Household. 

THE  PROBLEMS  OF  DOMESTICITY 

Accepting  the  fact  of  sex-  difference  as  indefea- 
sible for  the  time  being,  Manu  mentions  the 
conditions  of  the  happy  home,  and  the  duties  that 
have  to  be  discharged  by  all  concerned,  in  order 
that  those  conditions  may  be  realised. 

Husband  and  wife  are  enjoined  to  love  one 
another  till  death  do  them  part,  and  after  and 
beyond  that  too  : 

The  whole  duty,  in  brief,  of  husband  and 
wife  towards  each  other  is  that  they  cross 
not  and  wander  not  apart  from  each  other 
in  thought,  word  and  deed  till  death.  And 
the  promise  is  that  they  who  righteously 
discharge  this  duty  here  shall  not  be  parted 
hereafter  even  by  the  death  of  the  body, 
but  shall  be  together  in  the  worlds  beyond 
also.  » 


IT 


l[a.nn,  ix.    101  ;    v.  165. 


212  MAND    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Polygamy,  in  some  phases  of  civilisation  and 
some  types  of  psycho-physical  constitution,  as  poly- 
andry in  other  exceptional  circumstances,  and 
second  and  third  marriages  by  widows  and  widow- 
ers, were  suffered  and  allowed,  but  always  with 
reluctance  and  deprecation.  The  ideal  is  mono- 
gamy and  constancy  till  one's  own  death. 

And  since  the  superphysical  possibilities  of  the 
woman-form  are  the  higher  because  of  the  in- 
tenser  love-nature  and  one-point  edn  ess,  therefore 
Maim  places  before  the  woman,  who  has  lost  her 
spouse,  the  ideal  of  remaining  faithful  to  his 
memory  till  her  own  body  falls  away,  even  more 
stressfully  than  he  puts  it  before  the  man  : 

Let  her  follow  the  ways  and  the  rules  of 
the  Brahmacharis,  improving  her  soul  and 
her  knowledge  by  the  way  of  study  and 
service  of  the  elders,  in  place  of  the  lost  way 
of  service  of  her  husband  and  children. 
Let  her  triumph  over  her  body  and  walk  on 
the  path  of  purity,  following  the  d  h  a  r  m  a  of 
the  wife  and  husband  that  have  not  thought 
of  other  than  each  other.  Thousands  of  virgin 
men  have  gone  to  highest  heaven  without 
having  passed  through  the  household.  Un- 
to such  heaven  shall  she  go  to  join  her 
partner-soul,  even  though  they  have  no  child 
to  help  them  pay  the  debts,  if  she  should 


KAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  213 

be   thus    faithful  to  his   memory  and  do  deeds 
of   good    during   the    rest  of  her  physical  life. ' 

Only  for  the  women,  as  also  the  men,  in  whom 
the  physical  nature  was  over-strong,  the  craving 
of  the  flesh  uncontrollable — for  the  younger  selves 
who  were  of  the  Shudra-type,  and  were  willing 
to  be  recognised  as  such  publicly,  gaining  the 
easy  fleshly  pleasures  but  losing  the  ascetic  mental 
honors — was  a  second  marriage  allowed,  as  poly- 
gamy or  even  polyandry  was  allowed. 

So,  on  the  other  hand,  for  the  women  whose 
temperament  induced  them  to  remain  single  and 
unmarried,  the  life  of  the  celibate  (naishthika 
b  r  a  h  m  a  c  h  a  r !)  was  open,  in  the  same  way  as  for 
the  men,  with  all  its  d  h  a  r  m  a  and  duties — duties, 
because,  in  Manu's  scheme,  there  are  mostly  duties 
only  and  no  rights,  either  for  man  or  for  woman. 
His  Society  is  based  on  D  h  a  r  m  a — Duty — not  on 
contract;  to  Him,  the  failure  of  one  does  not  absolve 
another  as  it  does  to  the  modern  men  and  women 
of  'rights'.  In  Samskrt,  'right'  is  rta,  but  it 
means  only  what  '  right '  meant  originally,  viz., 
'  truth  '. 


lfa 


.1  />/,///  v.  158,  159,  160. 


214  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

For  the  others,  for  whom  marriage  was  a 
superphysical  and  spiritual  sacrament,  a  dutiful 
and  holy  means  of  arousing  the  higher  emotions 
,of  reverence  and  love  and  compassion  and  self- 
sacrifice — for  them,  for  men  as  well  as  women, 
as  in  the  classic  ideals  of  Rama  and  Sita — the 
ideal  was  faithfulness  unto  one's  own  death  and 
beyond.  The  fire  of  the  higher  emotions  having 
been  once  lit  by  the  sacrament,  such  constancy 
was  finer  and  more  nourishing  food  for  it  than 
repeated  marriages  could  ever  be  at  their  very 
best.  To  such  faithful  and  high-souled  ones,  the 
retirement  from  family  life  (v  a  n  a  p  r  a  s  t  h  a 
a  s  h  r  a  m  a)  came  earlier  than  to  others ;  and  they 
could  the  sooner  become  the  elders  of  the  com- 
munity, the  brothers  and  sisters  of  charity  and 
mercy  and  all-helpfulness. 

In     life,     wife     and     husband     ever     uplift     one 
another,   if    either  one    be    noble    of    soul : 

As  the  quality  of  the  husband  is  such  becometli 
the  quality  of  the  faithful  wife,  even  as  the 
quality  of  the  waters  of  the  river  becometh  as  the 
quality  of  the  waters  of  the  ocean  into  which  she 
mergeth.  Low-born  Akshamala,  wedded  to  Va- 
sislitha,  became  one  of  the  foremost  of  the  Rshis 
that  wear  the  woman-form.  So  SliarangI  wed- 
ded to  Mandapala. 

So  too,  if  the  wife  be  of  noble  soul  and  the 
husband  sinful,  and  she  determines  to  follow  him 


FA.MILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  215 

in  death  unwidowed,  then,  even  as  the  strong 

snake-hunter  grasps  the  serpent  and  drags  it  out 

to  light  from  the  deepest  crevice,  even  so  shall 

her  giant  love   and   sacrifice  grip  the  husband's 

soul,  and  drag  it    from   its    depths   of   sin   and 

darkness    unto  the   realms    of   light   above.  1 

This   is   literally   true.     The  subtler  body   of    the 

spouse,  possessed  with    the   divine   madness  of  Love 

to     such    extent    that     it   flings     away    the     grosser 

body,    in    order   to    defeat  and  triumph   over  Death's 

efforts     to    separate    it    from    its    beloved,    literally 

establishes     bonds     in     superphysical      matter     with 

the     subtler    body   of   the   other    spouse,    grips    it 

with     superphysical     hands,     and      lifts     it    to    the 

higher  worlds.     Itself    cannot  be    dragged   down    to 

the    grosser   and    painful    regions    of   p  r  e  t  a-1  o  k  a, 

however   burdened    with    sin   the   soul  of   the  other 

may  be,    because   that    extreme     self-sacrifice    and 

selflessness,   which   works    only    in    the    highest    and 


I 
•>i«!i*ii*«4??''n*(rTl*^  II 

Mann,  ix.  22,  23. 


Shankha  and  Aiigira  quoted  in  YajftavalJcya-M'ifdksharfi 
i.  Vivaha-prakarana,  shl.  36. 


216  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

most  refined  kinds  of  matter,  has  potency  enough 
to  resist  immersion  in  the  denser  matter  for  it- 
self, as  also  for  all  that  it  clings  to  in  order  to 
save.  And  its  fire  of  devotion  sooner  or  later 
sets  alight  a  corresponding  quality  in  the  other, 
which  then,  of  its  own  inspiratioii,  burns  away 
its  grosser  matter  and  sinful  addictions.  The 
principle  of  all  vicarious  atonement  is  this  :  The 
higher  soul  can  save  the  lower,  not  the  lower  the 
higher.  Therefore  it  is  given  to  the  woman  to 
save  her  fallen  husband  by  such  extreme  sacrifice, 
even  more  than  it  is  given  to  the  man  to  save 
his  wife.  The  man  can  help  mostly  with  know- 
ledge only  ;  but  the  woman  helps  with  love  ;  and 
if  comparison  must  be  made,  then  surely  love  'shall 
rank  higher  than  knowledge. 

They  say  that  Mann  honors  not  the  woman. 
Yet  no  enlightened  modern  statesman  or  sovereign 
has  embodied  in  the  law  of  any  modern  State 
what  Manu's  Law  contains  : 

The  acharya  exceedeth  ten  up  ad  hy  ay  as  in 
the  claim  to  honor  ;  the  father  exceedeth  a  hun- 
dred acharya  s;  but  the  mother  exceedeth  a 
thousand  fathers  in  the  right  to  reverence,  and 
in  the  function  of  educator.i 

The  Samskrt  word  gauravam  means,  primar- 
ily, 'the  quality  of  the  guru,  the  teacher'  and, 


<tk>IIHK^W  H        Mann,  ii.  145. 


FAMILY    I. IKK    AM)    ECONOMICS  217 

secondarily,  the  '  weight/  the  importance,  the  honor 
attaching  to  that  quality.  A  modern  Jesuit  is 
reported  to  have  said :  "  (rive  me  a  child  for  the 
first  seven  years  of  life ;  and  then  you  can  try  to 
do  anything  you  please  with  him  afterwards."  He 
knew  that  the  impress  on  .^mJ -character  of  those 
first  seven  years  could  never  be  effaced  afterwards. 
Hence  Maim  says  that  the  mother  exceedeth  a  million 
teachers  in  the  quality  of  educator.  If  the  Initiator 
is  more  honored  than  the  physical  mother  or  father, 
it  is  because  he  is  verily  both  father  and  mother 
of  the  disciple's  higher  bodies : 

He  who  envelopeth  the  ears  of  the  pupil 
with  the  Truth  of  Brahman,  he  who 
giveth  him  new  birth  into  a  higher  body, 
with  the  sacred  rites  of  the  Yedas,  and 
the  help  of  the  Gayatri,  he  is  verily  both  the 
father  and  the  mother  of  the  disciple,  and  he 
is  more,  for  the  body  he  bestoweth  is  not  perish- 
able like  the  body  of  flesh,  but  is  undecaying 
and  immortal.1 

Thus  does  the  ancient  culture  honor  the  woman. 
But  it  honors  the  mother-woman,  not  the  militant 
'  woman's  rights  woman  '. 


Mann,  ii.  144,  145. 


218  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THKO8OPUY 

The  good  women  should  be  ever  honored  and 
worshipped  like  the  Gods  themselves.  By  the 
favor  and  the  soul-power  of  the  trw  women 
are  the  three  worlds  upheld.1 

Verily,  the  father,  the  mother,  and  the  children 
too,  are  not  separate,  but  parts  of  the  same  organ- 
ism : 

The  Man  is  not  the  man  alone  ;  he  is  the  man, 
the  woman  and  the  progeny.  The  Sages  have 
declared  that  the  husband  is  the  same  as  the 
wife.  2 

In  the  Brahma-Pur  ana,  the  Mataya-Purana,  and 
others  where  the  various  varshas,  or  races  and  sub- 
races,  are  described,  it  is  said  of  the  earlier  ones 
that  pairs  used  to  issue  at  the  same  time  from 
'  egg-like  fruit  '  and  live  together  for  thousands  of 
years  and  disappear  simultaneously  also.  In  those 
days,  the  verse  of  Manu  had  therefore  a  literal 
value,  as  regards  the  double-sexed  or  only  slight- 
ly differentiated  beings.  And  the  echo  of  that 
distant  fact  in  the  more  psychic  human  souls  of 
to-day  is  the  belief  about  '  twin-flames/  etc.  But 
that  belief  represents  only  a  partial  truth.  The 


Mafeyet-Pur&na,  eh.  214,  sh.  21. 

II 

Mann,  ix.  45. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  219 

whole  truth  is  that  all  flames  or  souls,  and  not 
only  pairs  of  souls  are  one;  also  that  Spirit  and 
Matter,  P  u  r  u  s  h  a  and  P  r  a  k  r  t  i  are  inseparable. 
The  partial  truth  is  that  any  two  souls  may  and  do 
have  special  affinity  for  special  lengths  of  time,  and 
serve  as  Purusha  and  Prakrti  to  one  another. 

Hence  is  the  marriage-sacrament  sacred.  In  its 
perfection  it  is  the  means  of  bringing  together 
two  incomplete  halves  and  making  of  them  a  com- 
plete unity,  soul  and  mind  and  body.  It  is  the 
means  of  fullest  realisation  and  perpetuation  of  the 
work  of  the  Self,  in  the  present  bodies  of  the 
married  pair  and  the  future  bodies  of  the  race. 
It  is  the  means  of  providing  pure  bodies  to  new 
streams  of  embodied  selves  to  enable  them  to  do 
the  round  of  the  world-wheel  safely.  For  only 
the  offspring  of  pure  and  holy  marriages,  of  loves 
consecrated  by  high  ideals  and  religious  aspir- 
ations, are  pure  and  happy — while  the  progeny 
of  evil  emotions,  lust  and  adultery  and  sensuous- 
ness,  must  perforce  be  evil  also. 

Many  forms  of  marriage x  are  mentioned.  But 
only  four  are  holy  and  recommended,  according  to 
types : 

1  That  the  other  forms,  which  indeed  amount  to 
crimes,  are  called  "  marriage  '  at  all,  is  on  the  general 
principle  of  legitimising  illegitimate  sons,  in  the 
interest  of  the  victims  themselves. 


220 


MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 


The  children  of  the  four  holy  forms  of  marri- 
age are  full  of  Brahman-glory  and  shall  grow 
up  worthy  to  he  honored  by  those  who  have 
themselves  won  honor.  They  shall  be  well-form- 
ed and  well-featured,  full  of  the  spirit  of  har- 
mony (sattva)  and  of  all  virtuous  qualities, 
able  to  win  and  justly  use  wealth  and  fame  and 
all  lawful  enjoyments  ;  and  they  shall  have  the 
vital  power  needed  to  live  man's  full  life-term 
of  a  hundred  years  in  righteousness.  But  the 
children  born  of  the  unholy  matings  shall 
be  unholy  also,  cruel,  lustful,  arrogant,  tellers 
of  untruth,  and  enemies  of  the  laws  of  righteous- 
ness.  Blameless  are  the  children  of  blameless 
marriages  ;  and  blameful  of  the  blameful  ones, 
in  brief.1 

Such  is  Mann's  statement  of  the  essential  law 
of  eugenics,  making  superphysical  beautification 
the  chief  means  and  source  of  the  physical  im- 
provement of  the  race.  And  in  it  is  implied 
the  reason  of  the  condemnation  of  adultery  and 


Mann,  iii.  39-4-2. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  221 

free  animal  loves,  with  their  inseparable  fears 
and  shames  and  lusts  and  deceits,  and  coarse- 
ness. 

But  despite  the  warnings  of  the  Law-givers, 
the  Spirit  in  its  downward  rush  along  the  Path 
of  Pursuit,  developing  egoism  and  sex -difference 
side  by  side  as  interdependent,  inevitably  falls 
into  sin  and  confusion  and  adulteration  of  castes 
and  stages  of  life  (v  a  r  n  a-s  a  n  k  a  r  a  and  ash- 
ram a-s  a  n  k  a  r  a) .  These  become  ever  worse, 
till  the  consequences  in  misery  shall,  by  reaction, 
rectify  and  remove  the  causes  in  sin ;  and  the 
race,  rising  again,  along  the  Path  of  Renuncia- 
tion, shall  feel  anew  that  there  is  happiness 
in  virtue  and  self-restraint  and  not  in  vice  and 
license  and  self-abandonment.  Then  shall  human 
beings  realise  that  man  and  woman  are  verily 
soul  and  body,  inseparable  ever.  Then  shall 
they  realise,  in  the  words  of  the  Vishnu  Pur  an  a l 
and  the  Vishnu  Bhagavata'  that: 

He  is  Vishnu,  she  is  Shri.  She  is  lan- 
guage, he  is  thought.  She  is  prudence,  lie 
is  law.  He  is  reason,  she  is  sense.  She  is 
duty,  he  is  right.  He  is  author,  she  is 
work.  He  is  patience,  she  is  peace.  He  is  will, 
and  she  is  wish.  He  is  pity,  she  is  gift. 
He  is  chant  and  she  is  note.  She  is  fuel, 
he  is  fire.  She  is  glory,  he  is  sun.  She  is 

1 1.  viii.         *  VI.  xix. 


222  MANU    IX    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

orbs,  he  is  space.  She  is  motion,  he  is 
wind.  He  is  ocean,  she  is  shore.  He  is 
owner,  she  is  wealth.  He  is  battle,  she  is 
might.  He  is  lamp,  and  she  is  light.  He 
is  day,  and  she  is  night.  He  is  tree,  and 
she  is  vine.  He  is  music,  she  is  Avords. 
He  is  justice,  she  is  ruth.  He  is  channel, 
she  is  stream.  He  is  flag-staff,  she  is  flag. 
She  is  beauty,  he  is  strength.  She  is  body, 
he  is  soul. 

Then  shall  they  see  that  both  are  equally  im- 
portant and  indispensable  and  inseparable ;  that 
each  has  distinct  psycho-physical  attributes  and 
functions  which  supplement  each  other ;  that 
both  are  present  in  each  individualised  life ;  but 
that,  in  certain  epochs,  one,  with  its  set  of 
characteristics,  is  more  prominent  in  one  set  of 
forms,  and  the  other,  with  its  differentia  and 
propria,  in  another  set  of  forms. 

In  the  words  of  Bhava-Prakasha,1  a  work  on 
medicine,  which  observes  and  examines  P  u  r  u  s  h  a 
and  P  r  a  k  r  t  i  in  their  biological  aspect  : 

Both  are  beginningless,  endless,  indefinable 
by  precise  marks,  eternal;  both  are  all-prevading 
and  inseparable.  But  the  one,  i.e.,  Prakrti,  is 
unconscious,  possessed  of  the  three  gunas,  germ- 
natured,  ever-unfolding  and  infolding,2  (back- 

1  Part  I.  Srshti-prakarana,    sh.    6,  7. 

"JJ^Tf  includes  SjRw*14  ;  Samskrt  medicine  accepts 
Sankhya  and  Yoga  cosmogony. 


I  AMI  I.  V     LIFE    AM>    ECONOMICS 

wards  and  forwards,  evolving  and  involving, 
expanding  and  contracting),  and  nerer  resting 
in  the  centre,  but  always  moving  between  the 
twe  extremes,  tin;  pairs  of  opposites  (making 
all  the  richness  of  the  world  and  world-experi- 
ences). While  the  other,  i.e.,  Purusha,  is  con- 
scious, attributeless  and  changeless,  seed- 
uatured  '  also,  but  not  subject  to  the  transforma- 
tion of  evolution  and  involution,  ever  fixed  at  the 
centre  and  impartial  between  the  two  extremes 
(holding  together  both  and  making  the  balance 
and  the  justice  which  sustains  the  World).2 

JThe  Purusha  is  sft*f  (sperm),  but  never  unfolds 
:md  infolds;  the  Prakrti  as  ^faf  (germ)  does;  like 
central  sun  and  moving  planets. 


rf  4)  *i^«i*: 


The  recent  discovery  —  yet  under  examination  —  of  the 
different  magnetic  properties  of  the  different  sexes, 
as  shown  by  what  has  been  called  the  sexophone, 
is  very  interesting  to  compare  with  this  ancient  view. 
The  sexophone  is  described  as  a  very  simple  instru- 
ment —  a  mere  thin  wire  of  steel  with  a  small  lump 
of  steel  attached  at  one  end.  Held  over  the  head  of 
a  male  of  the  human  or  animal  kingdom,  the  weight 
moves  round  and  round  in  a  circle.  Over  a  female, 
of  either  kingdom,  it  vibrates  fo-and-/>-o  in  a  straight 
line.  The  law  is  reported  to  have  been  verified  in 
the  case  of  eggs  ;  also  of  females  carrying  young,  where 
the  sex  of  the  foetus  seems  to  overpower,  for  the 
time,  the  sex  of  the  mother. 


224  MAN!'    IN    THK    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

On  the  question  of  population.,  the  Great 
Progenitor,  with  his  infinite  tenderness  for  the 
young,  wishful  that  the  race  should  increase  and 
multiply,  also  seeing  the  dangers  of  over-population, 
yet  knowing  the  futility  of  all  strict  prohibition 
in  view  of  the  general  plan  of  evolution,  gives 
to  men  only  the  principles  which  govern  the 
question  : 

The  child  of  Maim  becometh  a  parent 
when  his  first  son  is  bovn  to  him,  and  is 
released  from  his  debt  to  his  own  parents. 
The  eldest-born  therefore  deserves  the  whole 
of  the  patrimony.  To  him  the  father  passes 
on  the  burden  of  his  triple  debts.  By  his 
help  he  wins  the  long  ages  of  bliss  in  the 
superphysical  worlds.  He  alone  therefore  is 
the  child  of  d liar  ma.  The  others  that  ma v 
be  born  after  him  are  the  children  of  passion, 
(kama).  The  eldest-born  alone  should  there- 
fore hold  and  manage  the  ancestral  property, 
and  all  the  younger- born  should  be  looked 
after  by  him  as  by  their  father  himself.1 


wW 

3R 


,   Ix.  105-lf>7 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  225 

And  elsewhere  the  Manu  states  the  paradox 
of  all  life,  and  its  only  possible  solution,  with 
regret  and  yet  with  hope  and  joy  also  : 

It  is  not  good  that  the  soul  should  be 
enslaved  by  desire.  And  yet  nowhere  is  to 
be  found  desirelessness.  The  learning  of  the 
Vedas  grows  out  of  desire,  and  so  too  all 
the  ways  of  action  laid  down  therein.  Desire 
is  the  root  of  all  resolve  to  act  in  any  way. 
And  sacrificial  rites  arise  out  of  resolves. 
And  from  resolves  arise  vows  and  penances, 
duties  and  self-denials.  Nowhere  is  any  move- 
ment to  be  seen  without  the  impulse  of 
desire.  Whatever  and  wherever  a  man  does, 
that  is  the  moving  of  desire.  But  if  the  man 
will  make  tin's  world  a  means,  and  dwell 
amidst  liis  desires  righteously,  in  the  oi-di'i- 
of  the  law,  then  shall  he  enjoy  all  just  en- 
jovments  here  and  also  go  to  the  world  of 
the  immortals  hereafter.1 

Often  is  the  injunction   repeated  to  restrain  desire 
(kama)    by     Duty    (d  harm  a).       But    this    constant 


Manu,  ii.  2-5. 
15 


226  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    1HEOSOPHV 

depreciation  of  sense-enjoyments  and  warning  against 
them  are  intended,  not  to  abolish  but  to  regu- 
late ;  not  to  make  life  interestless,  but  to  prolong 
it,  to  prevent  the  waste,  in  a  few  wild  bouts  of 
revelry,  of  the  vitality  which  ought  to  suffice  for 
a  long  life-term  of  happiness. 

That  the  eldest  son  is  declared  the  child  of 
Duty  (d  harm  a),  and  the  others  the  children  of 
desire  (karaa),  is  indicative  of  Manu's  intention 
that  population  should  not  multiply  beyond  the 
capacity  of  the  land  to  feed  and  clothe  comfort- 
ably, and  that  celibacy  (b  r  a  h  m  a  c  h  a  r  y  a)  with  its 
manifold  benefits  should  be  observed  in  later  life 
as  well  as  early.' 

Due  proportion  between  the  total  number  of 
mouths  to  be  fed  and  bodies  to  be  clothed,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the 
land  from  which  the  food  and  the  clothing  are  to 
be  derived,  directly  or  indirectly,  on  the  other;  and, 
further,  between  the  number  engaged  in  productive 
labor,  on  the  one  hand,  and  that  engaged  other- 
wise, on  the  other  —  this  seems  to  be  the  only 
basis  of  all  sound  economics.  Throw  these  out 
of  proportion  and  endless  artificial  difficulties  will 
arise,  to  give  opportunities  for  the  exercise  of 
their  sharp  wits  to  the  statesmen  and  economists 
who  take  pride  in  calling  themselves  practical. 


i  See    also   footnote  in    Tin'   .sVr/W    Doctrine,    ii.  p.  411, 
(Old  Edition). 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  227 

And  they  will  provide  an  equally  endless  series 
•jf  solutions,  one  or  more  for  each  difficulty,  as 
it  arises.  But  each  solution  will  give  rise  to  ten 
new  difficulties,  and  then  there  will  be  ten  moi'e 
solutions,  and  so  on  in  a  geometrical  progression, 
till  some  day,  the  process  ends  in  disaster.  The 
way  of  truth  is  one,  the  ways  of  error,  infinite. 
For  every  deviation  from  the  one  straight 
road  is  a  new  way,  and  it  is  an  error.  There 
will  never  be  a  radical  solution  of  economical  diffi- 
culties in  the  present  ways,  but  only  a  great  dis- 
play of  cleverness.  The  only  real  solution  is  the 
unpractical,  visionaiy,  religious  one — for  so  it  will 
appear  to  the  person  who  prefers  to  temporise 
and  deal  with  the  surface  of  things.  This  is  the 
solution  that  Manu  indicates  when  he  declares 
that  only  the  eldest  son  is  the  child  of  d  h  a  r  m  a, 
and  that  all  the  others  are  the  children  of  k  a  m  a 
and  mere  sense-craving. 

Even  with  such  teaching  and  preaching  in 
India,  the  just  proportions  of  Manu  could  not 
always  be  maintained,  though  perhaps  they  were 
maintained  for  longer  periods  than  elsewhere. 
But  as  often  as  they  were  disturbed,  so  often 
the  only  possible  consequence  followed  invariably. 
If  the  numerical  proportion  of  the  castes 
was  disturbed,  so  that  the  earth  groaned  under 
the  burden  of  over-grown  and  non-productive 
officialism  and  militarism  and  their  attendant  evil 


MAKU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OK    THEOSOPHY 

passions,  then,  at  her  complaint,  as  the  Puranas 
put  it,  the  Creator  sent  wars  like  that  of  the 
Mahabharata,  whereby  the  militarist  population 
was  directly  cut  off,  and  remedied  itself,  by  the 
unfailing  laws  of  karma.  Or  if  the  general  popu- 
lation grew  excessive,  then  out  of  the  sin  of  over- 
indulgence of  self  which  led  to  such  excess  and 
unavoidable  over-crowding  and  dirt,1  the  Creator 
shaped  the  demons  of  plague  and  famine,  which 
swallowed  up  the  excess  and  restored  the  just 
proportions. 

And  the  Rshis  changed  the  laws  of  inheritance 
also,  so  that  primogeniture  was  abolished.  It 
reigned  in  those  days  when  the  management  of 
wealth  was  altruistic,  in  the  interests  of  the  public 
generally  rather  than  of  one  person;  and  when  the 
eldest,  as  head  of  a  large  joint-family  was  an 
honored  office-bearer  and  trustee  for  the  whole, 
a*  a  King  of  his  people,  rather  than  a  private 
proprietor.  And  in  those  earlier  days,  generally, 
a  really  higher  and  more  advanced  grade  of 
embodied  self  was  born  as  the  eldest  to  take  care  of 
the  vounger  ones  and  lead  them  on,  even  as  on  a 
larger  scale  the  Divine  Kings  came  to  guide  the 
nations  in  that  day — for  the  physical  and  the 
superphysical  worlds  are  always  adjusting  them- 
selves to  each  other.  And  thus  the  eldest  was 

1  See  the  story  of  Karkati  in  the  Yoga-Vdeishtha,  III. 
and  of  Dussaha-yakshma  in  the  Mdrlcandcya-Pnrdna. 


KAM1LV    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  229 

a  child  of  d  h  a  r  m  a  in  a  very  real  sense.  But 
when,  with  the  growth  of  egoism  and  individual- 
ism, these  things  changed  and  selfish  souls  came 
us  eldest,  instead  of  unselfish,  then  in  the  place 
of  primogeniture  was  substituted  equal  partition 
between  brothers  : 

After     the     death     of     the    father   and    the 

mother,  let   the    brothers    assemble   and    divide 

the    paternal    property  ;  while  the  parents    are 

alive,    the   children   have    no   power.1 

But  the  time  seems  to  have  come  round  again,  when 

the    bands    of  celibates    (naishthika  brahnia- 

charis),    those    who   remain  in  the  virgin  stage  for 

life,     should    be     strengthened   largely   by   recruits 

from    all     parts    of   the    world.     Thus  only  will  the 

over-growth     of     the     spirit     of     individualism     be 

successfully      resisted,      and      the     agony    of     the 

struggle   for   life    made    easier    for  the  rest.     Thus 

will     the    transition   be    made    as    painless     as    may 

be    to    the     happier    conditions   of    the    new  Race 

and    sub-race,    when  elder    selves  shall  come   again 

as  the    eldest  of    joint  families   and  a  Divine  King 

shall  come  as  the  eldest  of  the  whole   joint  Human 

Family.      Thus    will   the    Manu's    hinted    injunction 

against  the  over-growth    of   population    be   carried 

out   successfully. 


:  II 

Manu,  ix.  104. 


230  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

The  control  of  population  is  immediately  con- 
nected with  sanitation,  as  with  economics.  The 
purposes  of  sanitation  are  mainly  defeated  by 
over-crowding.  Tf  that  can  be  avoided  all  else  is 
regulated  easily.  Manu  deals  with  all  the  essential 
points. 

Avoidance  of  unhealthy  foods  and  drinks  and 
that  personal  cleanliness  which  is  next  to  godliness 
have  been  made  a  habit  by  the  education  in  the 
principles  of  hygiene  and  the  daily  training  of  the 
student  (b  r  a  h  m  a  c  h  a  r  I)  stage.  Indeed-  notions 
about  these  make  up  half  the  Hindu  religion  of  to-day. 
Only,  with  the  general  degeneration  of  character  and 
intelligence,  the  underlying  reason  of  customs  lias 
been  lost,  the  notions  have  become  distorted  and 
exaggerated,  dead  formalities  are  clung  to,  and 
many  of  the  practices  current  as  to  '  touching  and 
not  touching '  are  mere  caricatures,  and  in  many 
cases  worse  to  follow  than  to  give  up  entirely. 

Thus,  e.  g.}  there  is  much  difficulty  made,  now-a- 
days,  in  India,  over  the  question  of  interdining  be- 
tween the  different  castes.  But  in  Manu  the  quest- 
ion is  not  even  raised,  so  far  as  the  three  twice- 
born  castes  are  concerned.  Under  his  scheme,  the 
students  of  all  three  castes  live  together  and  study 
together  and  tend  the  culinai'y  fires  and  take  their 
meals  together,  in  the  house  of  the  same  Teacher. 
They  go  a-begging,  also,  together  and  mostly  to 
Yaishya  homes.  For  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Vaishya, 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  231 

mainly,  to  feed  guests  and  supply  food.  The 
Brahmana  is  exempted  from  the  duty  of  guest-rite 
by  his  vow  of  poverty  ;  but,  on  special  occasions 
mentioned,  he  also  is  equally  bound  to  feed  all,  of 
any  caste,  who  may  come  to  his  house  in  distress. 
And  these  students  of  all  the  twice-born  castes 
offer  equally  to  the  Teacher  the  food  received  by 
them  from  begging.  And  so  on.  Throughout  the 
Puranas  the  stories  show  that  if  the  persons  lived 
the  proper  life,  their  families  iiiterdined.  For  the 
only  case  in  which  Mann  felt  there  might  possibly 
be  a  doubt,  viz.,  the  twice-born  taking  food 
from  those  not  twice-born,  he  lays  down  the 
needed  rule.  The  possibility  of  the  doubt  consists 
in  this,  that,  as  a  caste,  generally,  Manu  exempts 
the  Shudras  from  much  of  the  strict  discipline 
enforced  upon  the  others.  As  regards  such,  Manu 
says  : 

One's  own  ploughman,  an  old  friend  of 
the  family,  one's  own  cow-herd,  one's  own 
servant,  one's  own  barber,  and  whosoever 
else  may  come  for  i^efuge  and  offer  service 
—  from  the  hands  of  all  such  Shudras  may 
food  be  taken.1 

One's    own    servant  —  this    is   the   keynote.     In  his 
case,    the    necessar      conditions    can    be    made    sure 


iM 


ri.  253. 


232  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    TH  KOSOPHY 

of,  the  conditions  of  physical  cleanliness,  and  of 
the  mental  good-will  which  is  even  more  import- 
ant than  physical  cleanliness  in  a  community  to 
which  the  superphysical  is  ever  near. 

After  doubt  and  debate,  the  Gods  decided 
that  the  food-gift  of  the  money-lending  Shudra 
who  was  generous  of  heart  was  equal  in 
quality  to  the  food-gift  of  the  Shrotriya 
Brahmana,  who  knew  all  the  Vedas  but  was 
small  of  heart.  But  the  Lord  of  all  crea- 
tures came  to  them  and  said  :  Make  ye  not 
that  equal  which  is  unequal.  The  food-gift 
of  that  Shudra  is  pui-ified  by  the  generous 
heart,  while  that  of  the  Shrotriya  Brahmana 
is  befouled  wholly  by  the  lack  of  good- 
will.1 

Such  is  the  general  principle.  Of  course,  for 
those  undergoing  special  yoga-training,  the  con- 
ditions of  purity  t  and  of  the  avoidance  of  all 
but  the  magnetically  most  healthful  contacts  are 
much  more  strict.  The  exaggerated  imitation  of 
these  by  persons  leading  lives  in  and  of  the 
world  becomes  caricature,  or  even  worse. 

Side  by  side  with  personal  cleanliness,  the 
daily  disinfection  and  purification  of  the  whole 


Mann,  iv.  224,  225. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMIC  233 

house  was  secured  on  the  physical  plane — apart 
from  whatever  superphysical  value  the  processes 
might  have — by  the  maintenance  of  the  sacrificial 
fire,  the  performance  of  the  daily  h  o  m  a  with 
various  odorous  and  medicinal  substances,  and  the 
daily  s  ;i  n  d  h  y  a  and  worship  in  the  family 
temple-room  with  flowers  and  incense,  in  every 
household. 

With  regard  to  some  kinds  of  houses,  it  is 
stated  in  other  works  that  after  sixty  years ' 
occupation  they  should  be  dismantled,  and  new 
ones  built  instead.1 

To  secure  free  circulation  of  light  and  air,  to 
subserve  the  purposes  of  a  natural  system  of 
conservancy,  also  to  provide  tooth-brushes  and  fuel 
for  the  people  and  pasturage  for  the  indispensable 
domestic  cattle,  Manu  ordains  that  certain  areas 
of  grass-lands  and  brush-wood  and  small  jungle 
shall  be  left  open  around  habitations,  the 
areas  to  be  fixed  by  proportion  to  the  popula- 
tion.2 The  necessity  of  not  allowing  any  re- 
fuse-matter in  the  vicinity  of  dwelling-houses  is 
especially  insisted  on,  and  the  observance  of  the 
rule  is  made  possible  by  the  provision  of  these 
large  open  areas,  on  which  the  forces  of  the  great 
natural  purifiers,  sun  and  air,  and  also  certain 

1  Detailed     instruction     for     building    healthy   houses 
are   to   be  found    in    the    works    on    Vdsfu  Shdstra. 

2  viii.  237. 


284  MANU    IX    THE    LIGHT    OF    THLOSOPHY 

appropriate  species  of  the  vegetable  and  animal 
kingdoms,  nature's  scavengers,  can  act  unhindered.1 

The  growth  of  huge  cities,  immensely  over-crowd- 
ed with  men  and  machinery,  and  of  complex  and 
artificial  ways  of  living,  makes  these  simple  rules 
inapplicable  to  the  present.  Elaborate  systems  of 
drains  for  removing  sewage-matter  to  a  distance 
are  resorted  to,  and  many  devices  invented  from 
time  to  time  for  artificial  lighting  and  airing  and 
getting  rid  of  the  smoke  and  the  soot  and  the 
general  dirt.  But  they  are  seldom  really  satis- 
factory. And  it  is  coming  to  be  recognised  more 
and  more  generally  even  in  the  West  that  the  only 
solution  is  a  dispersal  of  this  crowding  and  a 
change  in  the  ways  of  living. 

The  spread  of  infectious  and  contagious  diseases 
is  guarded  against,  in  the  old  scheme,  by  an 
automatic  system  of  segregation,  by  the  'uncleanness  ' 
(a-s  ha  u  c  h  a)  of  the  immediate  relatives  and  of  those 
who  come  in  contact  with  them,  of  any  one  Avho 
dies  during  the  household  life.  Every  such  death,  in 
a  society  in  which  the  rules  as  to  the  stages  of  life 
were  working  properly,  would  presumably  be  from 
disease  and  out  of  due  time,  and  so  entail  more  or 
less  unhealthy  physical  and  superphysical  consequen- 
ces on  the  kinsfolk.  As  to  why  deaths  from  all 
diseases — with  a  very  few  exceptions — were  treated 

*iv.  151. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  235 

alike  for  the  purposes  of  segregation,  we  have  to 
bear  in  mind  that  infectiousness  is  only  a  question 
of  degree  and  not  of  kind.  In  reality,  all  diseases 
are  infections,  as  is  health  also,  as  are  passions, 
enthusiasms,  panics,  melancholies,  high  spirits. 
Only  some  are  very  much  so,  and  some  very  little. 
Where  an  untimely  death  has  been  caused  by  dis- 
ease, the  presumption  would  be  that  it  was  more 
and  not  less  infectious  and  dangerous.  Deaths  in 
battle  appear  to  have  been  governed  by  different 
rules.  Also,  the  deaths  of  those  retired  from  the 
household  life  and  of  ascetics  (v  a  n  a  p  r  a  s  t  h  a  s 
and  s  a  n  n  y  a  s  I  s)  did  not  affect  the  kinsfolk  .in 
the  same  fashion.  The  post  mortem  disposal  was 
different,  and  segregation,  in  the  same  way  as  for 
householders,  unnecessary.  For  they  have  given 
up  their  bodies  of  their  own  will,  when  their 
vital  forces  and  their  uses  have  become  naturally 
and  healthily  exhausted  by  efflux  of  time  and  even 
their  cast-off  garments  of  flesh  and  subtler  vehicles, 
permeated  through  and  through  with  the  spirit  of 
renunciation,  are  a  blessing  and  a  help  to  the  people 
and  not  a  danger.  In  interpreting  all  such  rules, 
indeed  the  whole  of  the  old  scheme,  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that  superphysical 
considerations  are  even  more  important  therein 
than  physical  ones.  He  who  forgets  this  fact 
will  never  be  able  to  really  understand  Manu. 
It  is  worth  noting  that  in  the  ages  when  caste- 


236  MANU    IN   THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

differentiation  was  highest,  the  periods  of  impurity 
and  segregation  for  the  different  castes  were  dif- 
ferent. Ten  days  was  fixed  for  the  Brahmana; 
twelve  days  for  the  Kshattriya ;  fifteen  for  the 
Vaishya;  thirty  for  the  Shudra.  The  reason 
seems  to  have  been  that  fear  is  a  predisposing 
cause  of  disease,  being  itself,  in  turn,  the  effect 
of  a  debilitated  nervous  system  and  unhealthy  con- 
dition of  body  such  as  is  favorable  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  disease-microbes.  A  family  possessed 
of  knowledge  and  of  corresponding  practice, 
in  the  highest  degree,  would  allow  itself  least  to 
fall  into  such  a  condition,  and  so  be  able  to  throw 
off  the  impurity  most  easily.  But,  at  this  day, 
in  many  parts  of  the  country,  the  period  of  segre- 
gation observed  by  all  castes  is  the  same,  namely, 
ten  days.  This  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
many  indications  that  the  characteristic  differences 
between  them  are  losing  their  sharpness  of  defini- 
tion, though  in  some  other  respects  they  have  be- 
come superficially  accentuated. 

So  far,  we  have  dealt  with  duties  which  may 
be  regarded  as  more  or  less  common  to  all  persons 
and  covered  by  what  are  known  as  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments of  Manu  : 

Contentment,  forgiveness,  control  of  mind, 
avoidance  of  misappropriation,  purity,  control  of 
sense,  insight  into  truth,  learning,  truthfulness, 
absence  of  angei' — these  ten  ai-e  the  marks  of 


FAMILY    fJFK    AND    ECONOMICS  237 

D  h  a  r  m  a.  They  who  study  well  and  prac- 
tise well  these  ten  aspects  of  D  harm  a,  they  shall 
surely  attain  to  the  highest.  i 

After  these  come  the  problems  of  livelihood, 
economical  questions,  and  divisions  of  the  social 
labor.  Manu  deals  with  these  by  means  of  the 
caste  or  class  system.  And  here  again,  as  in  every 
other  case,  the  keynote  of  his  solutions  is  the 
subordination  of  the  physical  to  the  superphysical, 
the  selfish  to  the  unselfish,  the  material  to  the 
spiritual. 

In  normal  times,  when  no  misfortune  compels, 
the  way  of  living  should  be  that  which  makes  no 
struggle  and  110  animosities  with  others.  Or,  if 
this  be  not  possible  wholly,  then,  at  the  least, 
the  way  of  living  should  be  such  as  involves  a 
minimum  of  this  uuhappiness.2 

Very  different,  this,  from  the  accepted  principles 
at  work  to-day.  The  modern  world,  that  is  to 
say,  the  modern  western  type  of  civilisation,  which 
flourished  high  in  Atlantean  days  also,  a  million 
years  ago,  seeks  ever  to  make  the  life  of  the 


II 
Man,',  vi.  92,93. 


Mann.  iv.  '2. 


238  MANU    IN    THE    LIMIT    OK    THEOSOFHY 

physical  senses  richer  \vith  the  wealth  of  even 
superphysical  forces.  It  seeks  ever  to  bring  down 
the  powers  and  possibilities  of  subtler  planes  to 
serve  the  daily  uses  of  this  physical  life.  And  it 
strives  to  harness  them  in  the  service  of  that 
same  competitive,  combative,  self-seeking  existence 
— making  the  struggle  so  much  the  keener,  the 
consequent  miseries  of  the  many,  as  compared 
with  the  successes  of  the  few,  so  much  the  more 
intense.  The  ancient  type  of  civilisation,  on  the 
contrary,  sought  and  seeks  and  shall  always  seek 
to  make  the  .superphysical  life  richer  with  the 
experience  of  the  physical.  To  it  this  physical 
world  is  the  world  of  action  (k  ar  ma-bh  um  i),  ;i 
mere  means  to  the  superphysical  world,  the  heaven- 
world  of  fruit  (p  h  a  1  a-b  h  u  m  i),  in  mental  enjoyment. 
The  selves  come  to  this  only  to  go  back  the 
richer  to  their  more  natural  habitat.  Therefore  that 
civilisation  strives  to  make  the  powers  and  possi- 
bilities of  the  physical  world  subserve,  not  indi- 
vidualism and  private  property,  but  the  ends  of  co- 
operation, which  works  and  flourishes  more  easily 
in  the  subtler  fonns  of  matter  than  in  the  grosser. 
The  breezes  of  heaven,  the  sunshine,  the  waters  of 
rivers  are  easier  to  share  than  the  earth's  surface 
and  its  solid  products.  Much  more  easy  to  share 
are  joyous  emotions  and  knowledge,  and  the 
memories  of  the  racial  experiences  as  stored  in  the 
great  epics.  The  Mahabharata  tells  of  how  the 


FAMILY     LIFE    AM>    ECONOMICS 

King  Yayati  was  cast  from  heaven  prematurely  by 
the  office-bearers,  because  of  some  error  in  their 
records  which  made  them  think  that  the  memory 
of  his  good  deeds  had  faded  from  the  minds  of  all 
living  beings  on  earth;  and  how  he  was  restored 
to  heaven  for  a  further  period  when  he  succeeded 
in  convincing  them  of  their  mistake.  The  works 
on  Yoga  mention  various  races  of  high  Gods  and 
superhuman  beings  (d  h  y  a  n  a  h  a  r  a  s),  who  feed 
and  live  on  contemplation  only. 

Such  an  ideal  of  plain  living  and  high  thinking, 
co-operative  and  non-competitive,  simple  and 
natural,  attaching  more  importance  to  superphysical 
joys  and  sorrows  than  to  physical,  made  life  easy 
and  happy  in  the  past  and  will  make  it  easy  and 
happy  again  in  the  commonwealths  of  the  future. 
But  no  commonwealth  can  succeed  which  looks  to 
the  ph}'sical  only,  while  those  which  look  to 
the  superphysical  shall  succeed  with  the  physical 
also.  It  is  impossible,  even  obviously,  for  every 
individual  of  a  nation  to  own  exclusively  for  his 
own  use  a  marble  palace  and  a  motor-car  and  an 
art  gallery.  There  is  not  room  enough  nor 
material  enough  on  and  in  the  earth.  In  the  first 
flush  of  the  discovery  of  a  new  force,  people  rush 
to  the  belief,  '  this  is  inexhaustible'.  But  logic  is 
against  such  a  conclusion.  The  new  force  will 
only  be  a  new  form  of  the  same  One  Energy. 
If  that  is  infinite,  the  claimants  and  sharers 


240  MA.NT    IN    TfJK    LIGHT    OF    THKOSOPHY 

of  it  are  also  infinite  in  number.  And  com- 
petition and  greed,  if  given  free  play,  will  exhaust 
even  the  exhaustless.  The  same  Yayati  >aid  : 

Not  by  feeding  with  fuel  of  sense-enjoy- 
ments may  the  tire  of  desire  be  allayed.  It 
ever  increaseth  the  more,  being  thus  fed. 
All  the  riches,  all  the  means  of  sense-enjoy- 
ments that  the  whole  earth  holds,  are  not 
enough  for  one.  Thus  let  the  self  realise  and 
thus  attain  to  resu 

But  when  men  cease  to  strive  for  exclusive 
possession,  then  the  joint  wealth  of  the  nation 
would  increase  by  leaps  and  bounds  ;  for  the 
energy  wasted  in  mutual  combat  would  become 
all  utilisable  for  production.  And,  as  the  just 
reward  for  virtue  and  unselfishness,  it  becomes 
possible  then  for  each  individual  to  pass  through 
the  same  experiences  of  worldly  riches,  turn  by 
turn.  And  he  does  so  more  fully  and  indeed 
more  often,  when  the  palaces  and  parks  and  galleries 
are  public  property,  and  free  from  personal  anxieties, 
cares  and  worries,  than  the  individual  and  ex- 
clusive owner  ever  could. 

This  ideal,  of  subordinating  the    physical    to    the 
super-physical,    has    of    course    become    exaggerated 

•=hl*ll^l«JH*}l«~i1 


bfahabhdi'ata. 


KA.MI1A    I.IL'K    AND    ECONOMICS  241 

and  distorted  in  the  more  recent  life  of  India; 
and  therefore  given  rise  to  the  state  of  things 
which  justifies  the  charge  of  inertia  against  the 
Indian  people  of  to-day,  as  a  whole.  The  reason 
is  the  passing  away  of  the  older  and  more  advanc- 
ed souls,  who  helped  to  hold  the  balance  evenly, 
and  the  influx  in  large  numbers  of  less  advanced 
ones,  who  are  apt  to  be  swayed  too  much  by  ex- 
tremes. The  old  ideal  was  to  perform  the  duties 
of  the  physical  strictly,  but  as  a  means  to  the 
enriching  of  the  superphysical  life.  The  later 
misinterpretation  is  :  neglect  the  physical  al- 
together. The  contrary  misinterpretation  by  the 
modern  West  is  :  neglect  the  superphysical  al- 
together. The  new  race  may  be  expected  to  make 
the  needed  readjustment. 

THE  FOUR  PRINCIPAL  VOCATIONS  AND  TYPES  OF  MEN 
In  the  meanwhile,  for  the  purposes  of  the  in- 
ternal and  external  economy  of  the  social  life, 
and  in  very  close  analogy  to  the  economy  of  the 
human  frame,  the  population  was  divided  by 
Maim,  under  the  dominance  of  the  principle  of 
non-competition  and  of  mutual  help,  into  the  four 
well-known  chief  types  : 

For  the  increase  of  the  world's  well-being. 
and  not-  for  the  increase  of  egoism  and  indi- 
vidualism. the  Creator  sent  forth  the  Brahma- 
uas.  tin-  Kshiittriyiis.  the  Vaisliyas  and  the 
Shudras  from  his  face,  arms,  thighs  ami  feet.1 


Hi 


n 

Mantt,    i.  31. 


242  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

In  those  times  and  places  in  which  the  various 
parts  of  the  human  organism  are  very  strongly 
and  sharply  differentiated  from  each  other  in  the 
individual — as  they  would  be  in  the  stages  of 
highest  development  of  egoism,  sex-difference, 
and  the  separative  intelligence — in  those  times 
and  places,  specialisation  and  demarcation  of 
castes,  classes  or  vocations  would  also  naturally 
tend  to  be  most  complete.  And  the  passing  of 
individuals,  then,  from  one  to  the  other,  would 
be  difficult,  as  of  cells  and  tissues  from  one 
organ  to  another.  But  in  the  ages  when  the 
constituent  parts  of  the  individual  organism  were, 
and  will  again,  be  more  homogeneous,  the  distinction 
between  the  individuals  who  make  up  the  racial 
organism  will  also  be  less  emphatic.  Then,  ex- 
change of  functions  and  vocations  was,  and  will 
be,  easier. 

As  by  gradual  selective  cultivation  from  the 
same  original  seed  containing  various  possibilities, 
two  or  more  very  dissimilar  kinds  of  plants  may 
be  gradually  raised,  and  then  by  neglect,  the 
progeny  of  both  may  revert,  in  the  course  of 
generations,  back  to  the  original  type — so  it  must 
be  with  the  human  race.  The  verse  of  Manu 
shows  that  all  the  castes  come  from  the  same 
source,  viz.,  the  body  of  the  Creator.  The  Markandeya 
Pur  ana,  we  have  seen,  mentions  expressly  the 
gradual  differentiation  of  the  different  castes  out  of 


KAMILY    I.Il'K    ANI»    K<  'GNOMICS  lM~> 

homogeneous  material.  Other  Puranas  have  similar 
statements.  The  Vayn  Parana,  says  in  so  many 
words  that  : 

There  were  no  'stages  of  life'  and  HO 
castes  and  no  '  mixtures  '  of  them,  in  the 
Krta  Yuga.1 

In  the  Vishnu  Bhayavata  we  read,  not 
of  solitary  instances  like  those  of  Vishvamittra, 
but  of  many  cases  of  whole  families  and  tribes 
changing  from  lower  to  higher  castes,  in  the  earlier 
Yugas.  The  chapters  on  the  future,  contained  in 
most  of  the  Puranas,  say  that  at  the  end  of  the 
Black  Age,  when  the  confusion  of  caste  is  complete 

—  in  other  words,  homogeneity  reverted  to  —  then  the 
A  v  a  t  a  r  a  will  re-establish  castes  on  a  higher  level 

—  out  of  the   existing    material,  not  by  a  new  crea- 
tion. Yudhishthira,  in  his  conversation  with  Xahusha  - 
declares   confusion  of  caste   to  be  already  complete, 
even  in  his  time,  five  thousand  years  ago,  and  that 
distinction     is     possible    only    by    natural,    internal 
tendencies    and    qualifications    and     character     and 
conduct. 

Nor  birth,  nor  sacraments,  nor  study,  nor 
ancestry,  can  decide  whether  a  person  is 
twice-born  (and  to  whit-h  of  the  three  types 


*  Mahabharafa,  Vaiiaparva.  clxxx.    See  Advanced 
Book  of  Hi  /id  u  ism,  II.  vii. 


244  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF   THEOSOPHY 

of  the  twice-born  he    belongs).     Character  and 
conduct  only  can  decide.1 
And    Manu    also  says  : 

By  the  power  of  t  a  p  a  s-force  acting  selectively 
on    the    potencies    of    the    primal    seed    in  all, 
persons  born  into  one  caste  may  change  into    a 
higher,    or  by  the    opposite    of    self-denial,    In- 
self  -indulgence  and  selfishness,  may  descend  into 
a  lower  ......  The  pure,  the  upward-aspiring, 

the     gentle-speaking,     the     free     from       pride, 
who   live    with    and   like    the    Brahmanas     and 
the    other   twice-born   castes    continually  —  even 
such   Shudras    shall  attain  those  higher  castes.2 
In    the     earlier     races,     this     held    true     in     the 
same    life.      In     later      days,     it    has     become      a 
matter   of   generations  and    of    new   births.     Rules 
for   change    of   caste    by    gradual     purification     are 
given  in   Manu,    x.    57-65. 

It  is  noteworthy  that,  even  at  the  present  day, 
amongst  Hindus,  a  person  born  into  one  caste 
physically,  belongs,  frequently,  by  the  calculations 


Mahdbharafa,   Vanaparva,  cccxiii.  108. 


x.  42. 
and 


ix.  335. 


KAMJLY    MKE    AND    ECONOMICS  245 

of  his  horoscope,  to  quite  another  caste.  This 
indication  of  the  horoscope  is  completely  neglect- 
ed however,  now-a-days — except  with  reference 
to  forming  marriage-alliances — but  was  probably 
given  more  value  in  the  earlier  time,  when 
astrology  was  a  real  and  most  important  practical 
science, '  and  was  utilised  not  only  to  determine 
the  types  and  vocations  of  children  already  born,  but 

1  It  is  not  possible  to  make  a  detailed  defence  of 
4  Astrology  '  here,  in  a  foot-note,  but  it  may  be  pointed 
out  to  the  earnest  student  that  it  is,  in  one  aspect,  a 
real  science  of  '  temperaments '  as  determined  by  the  pre- 
dominance of  one  or  the  other  of  the  root -t  at  ^v  as  which 
make  up  the  material  vehicles  of  the  soul,  and  also  of 
the  race  and  the  world  which  it  inhabits.  The  various 
planets  correspond  to  these  tattvas.  The  changing 
mutual  positions  of  these  bodies  produce  a  parallel  and 
continuous  change  in  conditions,  magnetic  and  other,  on 
the  surface  of  each.  And  all  life  is  affected  by 
these  changes.  As  seasonal  conditions  affect  vegetable- 
crops,  so  these  planetary  conditions  affect  '  human 
crops  '.  And  the  tattvas  are  sub-divided  under  s  a  1 1  v  a, 
rajas  and  tamas;  and  these  demarcate  the  types  of 
men.  The  first  division  of  men  is  into  d  v  i  j  a,  twice- 
born  and  a-d  v  i  i  a,  not-twice-born — the  former  character- 
ised by  s  a  t t  v  a  and  rajas;  the  latter  by  rajas  and 
tamas,  chiefly.  Then  the  former  are  sub-divided  (i) 
satt  va  very  slightly  tinged  with  the  others,  or  Brahmauas; 
(ii)  largely  with  rajas,  Kshat^riyas  ;  (iii)  with  tamas, 
Vaishyas.  The  latter  are  generally  sub-divided  into: 
(i)  Sat-shudras,  the  better  class  of  Shudras,  and  (ii) 
A  sa .t-sh fuli-as,  the  less  so,  according  as  rajas  or  ^amas 
prevails.  With  the  '  principles  '  of  s  a  1 1  v  a,  and  rajas, 
and  t  a  m  as,  there  go  respectively  corresponding  constitu- 
ent t  a  $  t  v  a  s  indicated  in  their  turn  by  various  planets 
and  zodiacal  signs. 


246  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

;ils(.  to  control  and  bring  about  the  birth  of  children 
of  special  types  and  qualifications.  This  science  will 
also  be  probably  revived  on  a  higher  level  in  the 
future,  and  changes  of  class  and  caste  will  become 
r;iM  then,  again,  in  a  natural  and  successful  way. 

Th<    Brahmana  as  Priest,  Scientist  and  Educationist 

During  the  stage  of  caste  and  class  differ- 
entiation, the  Brahmana  is  entrusted  with  the  duty 
of  maintaining  and  enhancing  the  national  stores 
of  knowledge  and  of  superphysical  powers,  and 
of  meeting  all  the  educational  needs  of  the 
community.  Others  are  freed  from  the  strain  of 
that  incessant  and  one-pointed  study  and  y  o  g  a 
and  t  a  p  a  s  which  use  up  the  vital  powers  of  the 
physical  body  so  largely,  but  which  is  unavoid- 
able for  one  who  has  to  become  the  unfailing 
teacher  and  the  spiritual  guardian  of  the  com- 
munity. And  the  Brahmana  is  freed  in  turn 
from  that  labor,  no  less  taxing  to  the  vital 
powers,  which  must  be  undergone  by  the  persons 
who  have  to  become  the  martial  protectors,  or 
the  bread-winners,  or  the  domestic  servants,  of 
the  nation. 

For  the  Brahmana  self-denial  and  know- 
ledge (t  a  p  a  s  and  vidya)  are  the  only  means 
to  the  final  goal.  By  self-denial  he  slays  the 
impurities  of  mind  and  body  which  stand 
in  the  way  of  the  higher  vision.  By  wisdom 
and  knowledge  he  attains  the  Immortal 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  247 

B  r  a  li  m  a  n.  All  joy,  all  happiness,  human  and 
divine,  is  rooted  and  begins  in  self-denial, 
is  maintained  at  the  middle  by  self-denial, 
and  has  its  ending  in  self-denial  also. 
This  has  been  ascertained  and  proclaimed 
repeatedly  by  the  wise  who  know  all  know- 
ledge. The  t  ;i  p  a  s  of  the  Brahmana  is  one- 
pointed  study.  The  t  a  p  a  s  of  the  Kshat^riya 
is  the  protection  of  the  weaker.  The  \  a  p  a  s 
of  the  Vaishya  is  pursuit  of  trade  and 
agriculture.  The  t  a  p  a  s  of  the  Shiidra  is 
service  of  the  others.  The  Rshis,  maintain- 
ing their  physical  bodies  with  roots  and 
fruits  and  air  (as  mere  instruments  of 
touch  with  human  beings,  for  their  helping), 
behold  at  will,  by  the  power  of  this  same 
self-denial,  the  three  worlds  and  all  their 
creatures,  moving  and  unmoving.  Whatever 
is  hard  to  cross,  hard  to  attain,  hard  to 
approach,  hard  to  do — all  that  can  be 
achieved  by  t  a  p  a  s.  Tapa  s  is  verily  resistless. 

The       Brahmana       should       study 

diligently,  d;iy  after  day,  the  sciences  that 
expand  the  higher  mind  (buddhi),  and 
that  promote  the  national  wealth  and  wel- 
fare, and  also  the  conclusions  of  the  scrip- 
tures. Truly  are  all  sacrifices  performed  al- 
ready by  the  Brahmanas  who  perform  the 
one  sacrifice  of  offeinng  up  their  energies  to 
the  work  of  storing  knowledge — for  all  the 


248  MAM;   IN  THE  LIGHT  OF  THKOSOPHY 

action    of   all    the  other  sacrifices  has  its   root 

in  knowledge.1 

The  Brahmana  is  not  to  earn  his  livelihood 
by  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  the  others,  and  must 
not  make  his  knowledge  and  his  wisdom  subserve 
that  purpose  : 

He  is  to  lead  the  life  of  straight  simplicity, 
and  shun  all  riches  and  all  crooked  ways 
of  worldly-minded  men.2 

So  only  can  the  Divine  Knowledge  be  kept 
pure  and  free  of  all  temptation  and  taint  of 
subservience  to  selfish  ends.  But  it  was  a  prime 


1  ?rfr 


rTTTSirf 


^  5  rFTCTT  ^T^T  rRt  f| 


Manu,  xii.  104;  xi.  234,  235,  238,  236  ;  iv.  19,  24. 


II 

iv.  11. 


FAMILY    UFK    AND    KCONOMICS  249 

charge  on  the  resources  of  the  State  that  the 
priest,  the  teacher,  the  scientist,  the  counsellor 
of  the  people,  God's  blessing  incarnate  amongst 
men,  should  not  suffer  lack  of  the  nourishment 
needed  by  his  body. 

He  is  to  obtain  the  food  wherewith  to 
quell  his  hunger  from  the  King  ;  or  from  his 
pupils,  who  are  to  beg  for  him  as  well  as 
for  themselves  ;  or  he  may  take  it  from  the 
families  for  whom  lie  performs  sacrifices 
(yajna).  ' 

These  are  the  sacrifices  at  which,  in  the  olden  days, 
when  they  were  performed  by  duly  qualified 
officiants,  and  the  required  purity  of  emotion 
and  corresponding  subtler  matter  were  available, 
the  Devas  assumed  visible  sha,pe,  and  took  their 
share  in  the  ceremonies,  before  the  eyes  of  all, 
and  there  was  open  communion  between  them 
and  the  sons  of  Manu,  as  mentioned  in  the 


Do  ye  give  nourishment  and  means  of 
manifestation  to  the  Devas  (with  your  pure 
emotions)  that  they  in  turn  may  give  you 
richer  life  (and  love).  Thus  helping  each  other, 
ye  shall  both  attain  the  highest.2 


:  ii 

Manu,  iv.  33. 
iii-  H- 


250  MANU    IN    THK    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Such  separation  of  the  pursuit  of  knowledge 
from  the  pursuit  of  wealth  is  not  only  advantage- 
ous but  indispensable,  for  the  health  of  the  individual 
as  well  as  the  social  organism.  So  long  as  the  stage 
of  differentiation  lasts,  the  same  organ  cannot  healthi- 
ly exercise  two  functions  in  equal  degree.  The 
whole-hearted  pursuit  of  knowledge  is  not  possible 
side  by  side  with  the  successful  pursuit  of 
wealth ;  not  even  with  the  winning  of  a  liveli- 
hood, if  it  should  involve  cares  and  worries.  Nor 
is  it  compatible  with  luxurious  living,  even  when 
the  means  therefor  are  available,  as  millions 
of  dyspeptic  brain-workers  know  to  their  cost, 
learning  the  lesson  too  late.  All  the  vital  forces 
(p  ran  as)  of  a  man  barely  suffice,  as  s;icri- 
ficial  offering,  to  satisfy  the  fire  of  physical  and 
superphysical  knowledge  (the  j  n  a  n  a  g  n  i,  the 
d  a  r  s  han  a  g  n  i),  if  it  is  to  be  kept  alight  on  the 
altar  of  the  nervous  system ;  and  if  some  are 
thrown  into  other  fires  of  sense-delights  (kamag- 
ni  and  koshthagni)  then  the  altar  itself  is 
consumed.  Asceticism  is  the  indispensable  condi- 
tion of  a  fine  and  sound  instrument  of  knowledge ; 
an  asceticism  carefully  calculated  to  preserve 
perfect  health,  not  an  exaggeration  or  caricature. 

They  who  tunm-nt  their  bodies,  in  ways 
not  permitted  by  tlie  sciences,  impelled  by 
vanity  and  hypocrisy  and  the  force  of  pass- 
ions not  conquered  hut  only  hidden — -they  but 


I  \M!I,V    I.FFK    AND    ECONOMICS  251 

foolishly     attenuate     and  deprive    of   due    nou- 

rishment the  myriad  beings,   the  hosts  of  minute 

lives,   the    living   elements     that    make    up    the 

human      body     and     through     it      gain     their 

evolution.     And    they    also    starve    the    Higher 

Self   seated    in    their   bodies   as    in  all    beings.1 

Moreover,   the    voluntary   poverty  of  the  learned, 

while     they     were    regarded     as     the    highest    class 

in     the     social     -system,      served     as     a     perpetual 

object-lesson  for  rich  and  poor  alike.     It  prevented 

the    rich  from  losing  their  souls  in  a  mad    scramble 

for   wealth.     It  guarded  the    poor  from    the    bitter- 

ness,   hatred     and       envy      which    are      such      sad 

features     in     modern    civilisation.     The    recompense 

for    learning    is    not    money,    but    honor.     Cash    is 

recompense     for     cash     or    physical     labor;  worldly 

power     for    effective    protection    in    the  possession 

and    enjoyment  of  the  things  of  the  world;     honor 

is    the    homage    paid  to    loving  wisdom.     And  it    is 

the     only     recompense     possible.       Can    the    child, 

though    it    grow    to    be    a    conqueror  of    continents, 

pay     off    the     father    and     the    mother    with    bags 

of     coin     or     landed     estates  ?     He     who,    by    very 

birth-right,    is    the    lord    of    all     creation,    he    is    to 

live    by    the    voluntary    offerings    of    others,    or    by 


rT?t  "5RP  I 

II 


i     NW  ^l«   <TTT*||^<HJyzH^  n 

Blutgarad-Glta,  xvii.  5,  6. 


252  MANU    IN    THK    LIOHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

gleanings  from  the  fields,  and  may  not  gather 
tip  for  the  morrow — lest  the  younger  souls,  the 
child-souls,  suffer  the  pains  of  jealousy  and 
distrust,  for  he  is  "  the  friend  of  all  creatures  'V 

The  very  birth  of  each  Brahmana  is  a  new 
incarnating  of  Duty.  He  is  born  for  the 
sake  of  D  harm  a  alone,  not  wealth  and  pleasure 
(Artha  and  Kama).  He  alone  is  able  to  up- 
hold the  vast  work  of  Brahman.  By  birth 

i  Manu,  iv.  4-12.  The  superphysical  application  of  the 
principle  may  be  noted.  Theosophists  will  be  aware 
of  the  statement  made,  with  reference  to  the  display 
of  occult  phenomena,  that  there  is  a  law  by  which 
eveiy  such  display  on  the  side  of  the  White  Lodge 
is  followed  by  an  attempt  at  a  similar  display  of 
force  on  the  side  of  the  Workers  of  Darkness.  In 
terms  of  physics,  this  is  the  law  of  action  and 
reaction.  In  terms  of  psychology,  it  is  the  law  of  the 
correspondence  of  emotions.  See  Chapter  ix.  of  The 
Science  of  the  JSmotionv.  A  show  of  superiority 
and  power,  sometimes  even  with  sufficient  and  just 
cause,  and  much  more  so  without,  stimulates  attempts 
at  similar  show  on  the  part  of  others.  Demonstra- 
tions of  force,  intended  to  overawe  into  peace, 
often  only  irritate  into  war.  If  the  powers  and 
authorities  conferred  by  law  on  a  public  servant 
are  exercised  by  him  for  vain  show  or  for  serving 
some  self-interest,  even  the  general  public,  and  much 
more  his  personal  enemies  and  the  criminals,  feel 
lack  of  restraint  and  inclination  to  break  bounds.  If 
the  magistrate  is  severe  to  himself,  the  inner  soul 
of  the  criminal  bows  to  him  in  indefeasible  respect. 
The  dire  self -repression  of  the  White  Lodge  gives  to 
it  the  right,  the  power,  on  all  planes,  to  hold  back 
the  powers  of  darkness,  the  evil  passions,  the  brood 
of  selfishness,  and  the  individual  souls  incarnating 
in  them,  from  overwhelming  the  world.  "  As  the  elder  be- 
have so  does  the  youngei1,"  by  force  of  example. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  25S 

is  the  Brahmana  born  the  best  and  highest. 
He  is  the  lord  of  all  creatures — for  their 
helping  and  for  the  guarding  of  the  seed  of 
D  harm  a.  Because  he  is  the  eldest-born  of 
the  four  brothel's,  because  he  is  born  fi-om 
the  head  of  the  Creator,  because  he  main- 
tains undiminished  the  store  of  Brahman, 
therefore  is  the  Brahmana  the  lord  of  all 
creation  by  right  and  by  duty.  All  things 
belong  to  him.  He  eateth  his  own  and 
none  else's ;  he  \\eareth  his  own ;  he  giveth 
to  others  his  own.  If  others  eat  and  wear 
and  possess,  it  is  only  because  he  permitteth 
them,  of  his  compassionateness.  Yet  his  best 
way  of  life  is  to  live  by  the  gleanings  of 
cobs  and  grain,  fallen  in  the  fields  after  the 
harvesting ;  and  to  ever  engage  himself  in 
the  rites  of  sacrifice  to  the  sacred  fires  for 
the  superphysical  well-being  of  the  world. 
Never  may  he  follow  the  ways  of  the  world 
for  the  sake  of  livelihood,  but  ever  should  he 
follow  the  uucrooked  and  the  uucruel,  the  pure 
and  the  ai'tless,  ways  of  living.  Contentment  in 
respect  of  worldly  things  is  the  Brahmana's 
way  to  the  final  goal ;  the  opposite  will  only 
bring  him  misery.  Never  may  he  hanker 
after  more  when  he  has  enough,  nor  gain  even 
the  enough  by  ways  opposed  to  D  h  a  r  m  a.  even 
though  in  dire  misfortune.  Let  him  cast  off 
the  riches  and  possessions  that  hamper  study. 
Study  and  teaching — the  Brahmana  has  done 
all  his  duty  when  he  has  done  these.  Let 
him  not  attach  his  soul  to  the  things  of 


MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    or    THKOSOPHY 

sense,  but  withdraw  liis  mind  from  them 
assiduously.  The  body  of  the  Mrahmana  was 
not  given  to  him  to  squander  away  and 
make  unclean  in  the  pui-suit  of  petty  sensu- 
ousness  ;  it  was  given  to  him  that  he  consume 
it  with  the  fire  of  tap  as.  ^'curing  by  that 
chemistry  the  good  of  others  here,  and  bliss 
immortal  for  himself  hei-eafter.1 


ft 

^I^HHf  f| 


i.  98,  99,  93,  100,  101;   iv.  10.  11.  12,  15,  16,  17. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AMI    I'COXOMICS  255 

It  is  not  difficult  to  pny  honor  unto  sucli  ;i 
Brahmana  !  Yet  more.  While  it  is  the  duty  of 
all  others  to  render  honor  to  him  —  otherwise 
rlieir  souls  shall  coarsen  and  contract  with  the  in- 
gratitude of  debts  unpaid  —  he  himself  is  to  avoid 
that  honor,  so  far  as  may  be  without  stunting 
the  soul  -growth  of  the  others. 

Let  the  Brahmana  shrink  from  honor  as 
from  venom  itself,  and  let  him  ever  long  for 
slight  and  insult,  as  he  would  for  nectar. 
Happy  sleeps  the  man  that  has  been  slighted, 
happy  he  roams  about  in  the  world  ;  but  the 
slightor  perisheth.1 

Vet  more.  Not  merely  to  repay  past  debt  of 
gratitude,  but  to  make  further  future  flow  of 
knowledge  from  custodian  and  trustee  to  the 
beneficiaries  possible  and  easy,  is  it  necessary  to 
render  honor  to  him.  Honor  is  veritably  the  food 
of  the  mental  body,  of  men  and  Gods  alike. 
And,  in  the  well-constituted  and  wisely  governed 
mind,  honor  received  becomes  transformed  into 
the  compassion  which  overflows  and  is  given  as 
help  and  counsel  and  instruction.2  If  the  child 


A/aw«,  ii.  162,  160. 

-  Compare    the  ordinances    of    Manu    as  to   the    salu- 
tations    and      blessings     with      which     studies     should 


256  MANi:    IN    TDK    LIGHT    OV    THKOSOPHV 

cares    not    and  turns  its  face  away,  the  milk  ceases 

commence  and  end,  and  note  their  physical  and  super- 
physical  implications — ii.  72.  Before  beginning 
study  the  pupil  should  touch  the  feet  of  the  pre- 
ceptor, the  right  with  the  right  and  the  left  with  the 
left,  simultaneously.  The  psychological,  and  the  most 
important,  principle,  underlying  this  rule  of  behavior, 
is,  as  said  in  the  text,  that  it  stimulates  the  com- 
passion of  the  pi*eceptor  to  give  to  the  student  all 
that  he  possibly  can.  The  principle  translates  itself 
into  terms  of  superphysics  thus :  According  to  the 
works  on  Vedanta  and  the  minor  Upanishats,  which 
describe  the  nerves  that  work  the  various  organs 
and  the  pranas  that  work  the  nerves,  the  hands 
have  the  'passive'  sense-quality  of  vayu,  viz.,  touch, 
and  the  active  quality  of  agni,  viz.,  ability  to  make 
visible  signs,  and  to  grasp,  '  apprehend,1  seize  for 
one's  own  sake,  use  up,  consume.  The  feet,  on  the 
other  hand,  have  the  acti  ve  quality  of  v  a  y  u,  going, 
moving  about,  enveloping  and  encompassing  all,  and 
the  passive  sense-quality  of  agni,  leading  to  new 
'  sights  '  and.  scenes,  to  new  knowledge.  (On  this  last 
point,  as  on  all  points  concerned  with  practical  Occult- 
ism, which  confers  superphysical  powers,  there  is 
some  mystery  observed  in  the  extant  scriptures  and 
the  statemants  are  not  plain.)  Finally  agni  corres- 
ponds to  in  an  as  and  vayu  to  buddhi;  and  the 
sub-divisions  of  the  former  on  any  plane  match 
with  corresponding  sub-divisions  of  the  latter  on  the 
same  plane ;  and  right  and  left  hands  and  feet  re- 
present opposite  magnetic  poles.  The  contact  then  of 
the  different  aspects  of  man  as  and  buddhi.  a  «•  n  i 
and  vayu,  and  positive  and  negative  poles,  has  a 
superphysical  effect  also  on  the  vehicles  of  teacher 
and  taught,  and  makes  the  teaching  and  studying 
more  powerful  and  effective. 

This  may  serve  as  an  illustration  of  the  interwork- 
iug  of  the  physical  and  the  superphysical,  throughout 
the  observances  of  the  •Ancient  Religion'.  Others 


FAMILY    LIKE    AND    ECONOMICS  257 

to  How  from  the  mother's  breast.  And  the  Brah- 
uiami  Ls  enjoined  : 

Not  to  speak  until  asked,  nor  if  lie  is  asked 
improperly  ;  though  all-knowing  he  should  be- 
have as  if  he  knew  naught.1 

Hut  after  having  made  this  rule,  the  elders 
were  not  satisfied  with  it.  The  tenderness  of 
the  older  is  stronger  than  the  lack  of  respect  of 
the  younger.  Love  is  stronger  than  death,  com- 
passion than  egoism.  So  they  added  : 

The  Teachers,  ever  ruthful  to  the  helpless 
and  the  young  ones,  may  tell,  even  unasked, 
to  the  pupils  and  the  sons  dependent  upon 
them.1 

The  pupils  who  are  away  from  their  own 
mothers  and  fathers  come  first  in  the  right  to 
fostering  care  and  instruction  ;  the  sons  come 
afterwards  —  to  Manu's  Brahmana.  Drona  thought 
far  more  of  Arjuna  his  pupil,  than  of  Ashvatthama 
hi--  son. 

may  be  worked  out  by  the  diligent  student.  One  is 
given  at  Pt.  Ill,  ch.  viii,  p.  356  of  The  Advanced 
Text-Book  of  Sandtana  Dliai-ma. 


ft 

ii.  110. 


Vishnn  BJulgavata,  III.  viii.  36. 


258  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF   THKOSOPHY 

Hinduism  has  sometimes  been  summed  up  as  the 
worship  of  the  cow  and  the  Brahmana.  It  could 
not  be  better  described  in  brief.  For  the  true 
Brahmana  is  the  embodiment  of  wisdom,  and 
the  cow  is  mother-love  incarnate  —  mother-love, 
that  divine  instinct  before  which  even  wisdom 
stands  reverent  and  adoring,  which  is  the  supreme 
product  of  the  highest  effort  of  Prakrti,  which 
is  Her  perfect  and  unceasing  redemption  of  Her 
Primal  Error  of  Avidya,  whereby  the  mad  turmoil 
of  the  infinite  worlds  was  created  and  is  main- 
tained; mother-love,  whose  overflow  takes  visible 
shape  as  milk,  the  vital  fluid  that  helps  the  help- 
less, nourishes  and  gives  life  renewed  to  the 
infant,  the  feeble,  the  sick,  the  aged,  when 
nothing  else  avails. 

Shall  not  the  cows  be  loved  as  mothers  — 
the  cows  whose  milk  was  greedily  sucked 
by  the  divine  babe  of  Devakl,  as  it  flowed 
forth  from  their  udders  at  sight  of  Him,  in 
tenderness  greater  than  for  their  own  young 
even  ?  1 

He  who  giveth  up  his  body  and  his  life, 
in  defence,  from  danger,  of  the  Brahmana 
and  the  cow  and  the  woman  and  the  child 
—  he,  though  he  be  a  Shudra,  or  even  a 
sinner  and  criminal,  shall  attain  forthwith 


ii 
Bhagavafa,  X.  (i.)  vi.  38 


FAMILY    un;   AM)   K«:ONOMICS  259 

(o  the  perfection  of  soul  that  even  Brahmaiuts 
attain  only  by  long  practices  of  yoga.i 
For  the  sake  of  Nan  din  I,  his  "joyous  mother- 
cow/'  when  she  was  threatened  by  the  Kshat- 
triya  Vishvamittra,  the  forgiving  Brahmana  Vasish- 
tha  brought  even  the  Sacred  Rod  of  Power  (the 
B  r  a  h  in  a-d  a  n  d  a)  into  action,  the  Rod  of  Power 
whose  movements  shake  the  earth  to  its  founda- 
tions, tear  mountains  from  their  roots  and  fling 
them  into  the  air  and  unseat  oceans  from  their 
depths  and  hurl  them  on  the  continents,  causing 
cataclysms  that  bring  about  the  death  of  old  and 
the  birth  of  new  races. 

Where  such  mother-love  and  holy  wisdom 
are  honored,  111  that  land  shall  nothing  else 
be  lacking.  ?'2 

\\  '\\ere  the  Spirit  is  just  and  right  and  loving, 
all  things  else,  of  matter,  are  added  of  them- 
selves. 

With  such  a  scheme  of  a  Brahmana-caste,  the 
problems  of  education  solve  themselves.  Each 
Brahmana-home  becomes  a  residential  school  or 
college  ;  there  is  no  over-centralisation,  nor  com- 
plete isolation  of  the  student  from  the  world;  also, 


r»T 

Manu,  x.  b'2. 


:  II 


260  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

while  the  home-feeling  is  maintained,  instruction  is 
not  hampered.  There  are  no  inflexible  curricula  on 
the  one  hand,  nor  an  unmanagable  plethora  of 
options  on  the  other.  Individual  attention  and 
adaptation  are  assured  by  the  number  of  Brahma na- 
homes.  Counsellor  in  all  the  deeper  needs  of  life 
and  householder  are  always  available  to  each  other 
as  mutual  support.  Also,  expert  adviser  and 
tradesman  are  everywhere,  all  over  the  land,  within 
easy  reach  of  one  another.  For  the  Brahmana  is 
enjoined  to  knoiv  all  arts  and  crafts  also,  and  to 
fit  himself  to  give  instruction  to  artisans  and  hand- 
workers too  in  the  secrets  of  their  work,  whenever 
required  to  do  so — though  he  must  not  himself 
practise  the  crafts,  for  his  own  livelihood,  lest 
wisdom  be  tempted  and  tainted  with  self-seeking. 

Let  the  Brahmana  know  the  ways  of  liveli- 
hood of  all,  and  instruct  them  therein.  Let 
him,  for  his  own  living,  follow  the  way  pre- 
scribed for  him.1 

His  living  comes  in  the  respectful  offerings  of 
food  and  clothing  from  the  householders  whom  and 
whose  children  he  teaches.  There  is  no  perennial 
difficulty  about  the  increasing  and  excessive  cost  of 
education.  There  is  not  much  mechanical  develop- 
ment, or  corresponding  instruction,  it  is  true, 
except  perhaps  in  or  near  the  capital  towns, 


i,  x.  2 


FAMILY    MKK    AND    ECONOMICS  2()  1 

where  the  guardians  of  the  people  have  to  maintain 
means  of  offence  and  defence.  But  the  doubtful 
advantages  of  huge  machinery  are  not  missed, 
and  are  amply  compensated  for  by  the  greater 
development  and  instruction  in  superphysical  science. 
And  enveloping  all,  is  the  atmosphere  of  mutual 
love  and  trust  and  reverence  and  patriarchal 
affection,  between  teachers,  parents,  children, 
and  even  the  birds  of  the  air  and  the  beasts  of  the 
fields  and  the  jungles,  and  even  the  plants,  for 
the  Brahmana  is  "  the  friend  of  all  creatures  ". 

And  not  only  are  the  young  ones  taught,  but  the 
grown-up  men  and  women  of  all  castes  and  classes 
have  the  advantage  of  lectures  and  readings  and 
expositions  from  the  Puranas  and  other  Scriptures 
and  histories,  on  holidays.  And  indeed  half  the 
days  of  the  year  are  holy  days,  each  having  a 
special  value  and  significance,  as  commemorative 
of  great  happenings,  or  devoted  to  work  having  a 
definite  superphysical  or  physical  good  result.  And 
souls  are  loving,  and  life  is  easy,  and  more  joy  is 
taken  in  communion  with  the  beauties  and 
romantic  aspects  of  Nature,  with  her  spirits  and 
her  Devas,  than  in  the  counting  of  cash  and  the 
tasting  of  power.  Minds,  delicately  responsive, 
see  in  the  common-place  things  of  daily  life  the 
manifestations  of  high  powers  and  principles. 
Books  become  tissues  in  the  sacred  and  beautiful 
body  of  ever-virgin  Sarasvati,  the  Goddess  of  the 


262  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

b  r  a  h  m  a  c  h  a  r  I,  not  to  be  written  or  touched 
lightly  with  impure  and  frivolous  intent  by  any 
and  every  passer-by.  Every  weapon  becomes  part 
of  the  Bod  of  Power  and  Justice  entrusted  by  the 
Lord  of  All  to  Yamaraja,  the  God  of  Death 
and  of  D  h  a  r  in  a,  the  King  of  Kings,  and  therefore 
may  not  be  lifted  in  vain,  for  mere  display  and 
aggression.  Every  coin  becomes  an  embodiment 
of  Lakshml,  the  Goddess  of  all  glory  and 
splendor  and  riches,  so  that  wealth  is  reverenced  as 
a  mother  giving  nourishment,  and  not  treated  as  a 
prostitute  to  dally  and  sin  with.  The  very  ink 
represents  Kali,  and  the  white  page  Gauri,  not  to 
be  misused  lest  she  be  displeased  and  slay  the 
offender  with  sterility  and  ruin. 

Under  such  conditions,  the  beauty  of  the  ancient 
life  might  reblossom  in  the  modern  world.  So  would 
even  the  familiar  things  of  the  physical  be  ir- 
radiated with  the  superphysical  and  transfigured 
by  it  into  things  of  joy  and  beauty.  So  would 
benignity  and  cheerfulness,  sweet  affection  and 
brotherliness,  reign  in  all  the  kingdoms  of 
nature,  displacing  and  banishing  all  jar  and  dis- 
cord and  struggle.  So  would  the  simplest  life 
become  a  poem  and  a  continual  feast  of  fine  feeling. 
So  would  hurry  and  bustle  yield  to  serenity  and  quiet 
order,  and  coarseness  and  vulgarity  to  refinement 
and  courteous  ways.  If  there  must  be  hasting  any- 
where, it  would  be  in  the  performance  of  D  h  a  r  m  a, 


FAMILY    LIFK    AND    ECONOMICS  263 

not  in  the  clutching  hold  of  bags  of  money,  nor  even 

in    the    reading    through    of    a    whole    library    of 

books. 

The  wise  man  thinks  of  gathering  wealth 
and  learning  as  if  he  were  immortal  and  had 
all  eternity  before  him  to  do  it  in.  But  to 
the  deeds  and  needs  of  D  h  a  r  m  a  and  of  duty 
he  attends  as  if  Death  had  him  in  its  grasp 
already.  ' 
Thus  great  would  be  the  results  to  society  of 

the  reappearance  of  a  true  Brahinana-caste. 

The  Kshattriya  as  Soldier  and  Administrator 

As  the  Brahmana  is  the  custodian  of  the  national 
stores  of  knowledge,  so  is  the  Kshattriya  the  cus- 
todian of  the  national  powers  of  external  defence 
and  internal  order. 

The  very  meaning  of  the  proud,  high- 
f  rented  word  is,  as  the  world  well  knows, 
"he  who  guards  the  weak  from  injury  by  the 
strong"  (  —  the  perfect  definition  of  chivalry). 
How  shall  he  be  King  who  behaveth  other- 
wise ?  What  shall  the  man  do  with  his  life 
if  it  be  blasted  by  ill-fame  and  the  unanswered 
cry  for  help  of  the  suffering.  2 


I  II 
Kalidasa.  Ra-ghnvamsha,  ii.  53. 


264  MANH    FTs1    THK    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

He  is  the  King,  the  ruler,  the  warrior.  But  in 
his  case  also,  as  in  that  of  the  Brahmana,  to  pre- 
vent jealousy  and  bitterness  in  the  minds  of  others 
and  arrogance  in  his  own,  power  is  yoked  with 
duty,  [privilege  with  responsibility.  The  King  must 
bow  his  head  before  the  wisdom  and  the  saintliness 
of  the  poor  Brahmana,  and  must  also  hold  his  very 
life  as  subservient  to  the  protection  of  the  meanest 
of  his  subjects  from  all  wrong-doers. 

The   whole    duty   of  the   Kshattriya,  in  brief, 
is   the    protection    of    the    people,    charity,    the 
sacrifices   whereby    communion  with  the   Devas 
and  purification  of   his   nature   is  achieved,  aiid 
study   and   non-addiction    to    sense-pleasures.1 
Loyalty    to    the  King  is  the  duty  of  the  people ; 
love    and    protection    of    the    people  is  the  duty  of 
the    King.     The    one    is    the  indispensable  price  of 
the    other.     As    the    price    of  loyalty  is  patriarchal 
benevolence,    so    is    the    cost  of    arrogant    careless- 
ness   in    the    ruler,    rebellion    in  the  ruled.     So,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  price  of  protection  is  allegiance, 
and   repression    the    cost    of     rebelliousness.      Deli- 
cate must  be  the  adjustment  of  the  Spirit  on  all  sides, 
if  the  life  of  the  matter-side  is  to  be  happy.     Yet  men 
neglect    the    Spirit    and  look  only  to  its  sheathing, 
neglect  to  water  the    root  and  diligently  brush   the 
leaves. 


»T3|I»!T  vfl^l  «m 

Manu,  i.  89. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AM>    KroNoMH'v  265 

By  his  fostering  cai-e  and  nurture  and  pro- 
tection of  them,  and  by  the  providing  of  educa- 
tion and  livelihood,  the  King  is  the  real 
father  of  his  subjects  ;  the  others  are  but 
the  means  of  their  birth  into  this  world. 
The  Great  King  of  all  created  the  King  to  be 
the  pi-otector  of  the  people.  He  who  hateth 
him  blindly  shall  go  unto  <l»>srruction  with- 
out fail.1 

Even  to-day,  in  India,  in  the  parts  where  the 
'  modern'  spirit  does  not  prevail,  the  people  regard 
and  address  the  ruler  as  '  father-mother'  and  each 
other  as  '  brother'  in  almost  all  the  vernaculars. 
But  to  the  modern  spirit  of  egoism,  this  is  only 
'ludicrous'  or  'hypocritical,'  and  ruler  and  ruled 
are  both  diligently  throwing  '  away  their  high 
opportunity. 

Mann  repeats  over  and  over  again  that  the  King 
shall  not  live  for  himself,  shall  not  permit  himself 
to  love  the  flavor  of  power,  shall  hold  the  sceptre 
of  justice  and  might  as  a  trust,  to  be  wielded 
only  for  the  good  of  others,  with  purity  of  mind 
and  body,  and  in  awe  and  reverence  of  the 
Great  King  from  whom  it  is  derived. 


Kalidasa.  Payhuramsha,  i. 


3/a»w,  vii.  3,  4. 


266  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF   THKOSOPHY 

Says    the    Law  -giver  : 

Let  the  ruler  ever  strive  to  conquer  his 
senses,  day  and  night.  He  who  has  con- 
quered his  senses,  he  alone  can  conquer  the 
minds  and  the  hearts  of  his  people.  The 
pure,  the  true,  the  wise,  the  learned  in  the 
sciences,  the  well-supported  —  such  only  can 
wield  the  rod  of  power  safely.  The  avarici- 
ous, the  self-seeking1,  the  foolish  who  have 
not  achieved  discernment,  who  are  sunk  in 
sensuousness,  who  have  not  the  ability  to 
make  and  hold  loyal  friends—  such  cannot 
nield  the  rod  of  power.  The  rod  of  power 
is  a  naming  fire  and  may  not  be  safely  held 
or  even  touched  by  the  hand  that  is  not 
vitalised  and  protected  by  the  Knowledge  of 
the  Self  ;  moved  aside  by  the  hand  of  foolish- 
ness from  the  straight  course  of  duty,  it  re- 
coils on  the  ruler  himself  and  slayeth  him 
and  his  kin  also.  As  the  breath  of  the 
bellows,  working  in  the  hands  of  the  metal- 
worker on  the  tire,  reduces  even  iron  to 
ashes,  even  so  the  sighs  and  the  sobs  of  the 
suffering  victims  of  power,  working  on  the 
righteous  wrath  of  the  Gods,  reduce  the 
oppressor  and  his  bands  to  ashes.1 


f? 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  267 

Such  is  Manu's  ideal  of  the  relations  between 
prince  and  people.  He  gives  many  instructions  as 
to  the  details  of  administration  :  the  departments 
of  work  into  which  national  affairs  should  be 
divided  ;  the  appointment  of  ministers  ;  the  cons- 
titution and  procedure  of  judicial  courts  ;  the 
classes  of  civil  and  criminal  cases  they  should  deal 
with  ;  the  management  by  the  State  of  the  properties 
of  widowed  women  and  orphaned  children,  and 
other  such  helpless  persons  fit  to  be  wards  of 
the  State  ;  the  provision  of  healthy  recreation 
for  the  people  ;  the  inspection  of  work  by  means  of 
periodical  tours  ;  the  adjustment  of  foreign  re- 
lations by  means  of  the  four  forms  of  diplomacy  : 
(i)  formation  of  offensive  and  defensive  alliances 
and  conciliation  and  friendliness  on  equal  terms, 
(ii)  payment  of  subsidies  or  tributes,  (iii)  '  divide 
and  rule/  and  (iv)  war  as  the  last  resource. 
And  so  forth.1  But  it  is  the  Spirit  of  righteous- 
ness and  benevolence  that  is  laid  most  stress  on, 


,  vii.  44,  31,  30,  28. 

1  Details  on  all  these  and  many  other  points  are 
to  be  found  in  the  Shanti  and  Anushasana  Parvas 
of  the  Mahdliln'ii-fita,  which  are  the  real  comment- 
ary on  Mann  ;  and  in  such  works  as  Shukra-ntti, 
Kdmandakiya-nlti.  <'!/i~i/iak//ti--,nti,  Kautilya-mfi,  etc. 


268  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

throughout.  If  the  spirit  of  the  ministers  of  law, 
of  all  bearers  of  office,  high  and  low,  be  right, 
the  details  are  of  small  account.  But  if  the 
spirit  be  wrong,  then  the  thicker  the  statute- 
book,  the  worse  the  government.  It  was  made 
the  duty  of  the  Brahmana  to  see  that  the  King 
maintained  the  right  spirit  ;  of  the  King,  to  see 
that  all  his  subordinates,  the  public  servants, 
lived  in  it.  This  law  of  all  laws,  the  foundation  of 
the  whole  structure  of  the  State,  is  the  burden  of  that 
primal  manual  of  law  and  government,  the  Manu- 
Samhitd.  Modern  governments  would  hesitate  to  put 
such  'baby-food'  in  their  law-books,  yet  it  is  this 
very  '  baby -food/  this  '  milk  of  human  kindness,3 
which  is  the  secret  of  individual  and  national 
health.  Good  character  and  good  manners  are  the 
foundation  of  good  administration ;  a  just  control  of 
the  senses — necessary  to  the  maintenance  of  a 
•due  proportion  between  land  and  population — is 
the  only  way  to  avoid  individual  and  national 
disease  and  struggle.  These  elementary  maxims 
can  never  be  brought  home  too  often  to  all 
persons  engaged  with  the  affairs  of  men — though 
perhaps  no  modern  ruler  would  think  without  a 
blush  of  proclaiming  them  as  edicts,  as  was  done 
even  to  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Ashoka.1  Verily, 

1  Arid  has  been  done  in  recent  times  by  the  Mikado 
of  Japan — to  whom  be  all  honor — with  results  in 
fiery  patriotism,  which  all  the  world  knows  well. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  269 

all  Kings  and  all  priests,  Brahma  and  Kshattra, 
•  knowledge  and  power  '  ('shastra  and  shastra'), 
in  every  nation,  should  teach  and  preach  and 
publish  assiduously  to  their  peoples,  as  Manu, 
the  great  Prototype  of  all  Patriarchs,  does  to 
all  his  progeny,  the  elementary  principles  of  the 
Science  of  the  Self  (Adhyatma-vidya)  and  ethics 
and  self-restraint,  as  the  most  important  part  of 
their  codes  and  statutes  and  scriptures.  It  seems 
to  be  assumed,  in  most  countries  to-day,  that 
such  '  baby-food '  is  given  and  taken  sufficiently 
in  the  schools.  But  this  is  unfortunately  not  a 
fact.  The  schools  and  colleges  eschew  all  moral 
and  religious  teaching.  The  bulk  of  the  populace 
receives  no  education  at  all,  though  it  needs  the 
support  of  such  more  than  the  others,  in  its 
incessant  struggle  with  poverty.  The  lower  grades 
of  the  public  service,  drawn  largely  from  the  unedu- 
cated and  illiterate  classes,  are  also  without  such 
instruction,  thougli  they  want  it  greatly  in  order 
to  save  themselves  from  perversion  and  misuse 
of  power,  and  from  overbearing  arrogance  and  lack 
of  patience  and  forgiveness. 

This  virtue  of  patience  and  judicious  forgiviiig- 
ness  is  sorely  needed  by  persons  in  places  of 
power.  It  is  only  another  aspect  of  patriarchal 
benevolence.  Manu  says  : 

The     even   i^andom     and   harsh  \vords  of   the 
young,  the    aged,  the  sick  and  the  feeble,  should 


270  MANU    IN    THE    LIUH  I     OK    THKOSOPHY 

be  fi-eely  forgiven  by  the  persoii  in  authori- 
ty,  as  also  the  words  of  anger  and  pain  of 
those  who,  having  suffered  hurt  from  others, 
make  complaint  against  tho  imler  also  for  failure 
to  protect.  He  who  endureth  patiently  the 
bitter  words  of  the  afflicted  he  j-ejoiceth  in 
heaven.  He  who  forgiveth  not,  out  of  a  hard- 
ened arrogance  and  sense  of  power,  he 
deseerideth  into  the  regions  of  punishment.1 
The  Kshattriyas  were  maintained  by  a  tax 

which     Avas     a     definite    proportion    of    the    income 

g      '••        i          '  'I  •!  ____  ^ 

of  the  industrial  class.  It  varied  from  one- 
fourth  in  times  of  difficulty  to  one-tenth  in 
times  of  <jase.  The  average  recommended  was 
one-sixth.2  All  public  servanN  nml  public  insti- 
tutions were  maintained  out  of  this,  especially 
the  great  temples,  to  which  were  attached  the 
counterparts  of  what  we  name  to-day  schools 
and  colleges,  hospitals,  museums,  parks,  gardens, 
and  theatres  and  places  of  dance  and  song,  and 
of  other  amusement  and  recreation.  Such 
institutions  were  placed  in  the  shadow  of  the 

f*FT?TT  =filf$'Jli 


Mann,  viii.  312,  313. 

'2  The    King    received   one-sixth    of  the    merit  and  the 
earned  by  his  good   and  evil   subjects,    especially 
Brahmanas.    also;  see  Manu,    viii.  304,   305  ;  and  xi.    23. 


i'AMILY    LIFK    AND    ECONOMICS  271 

temple,  on  the  general  principle  which  pervades 
all  the  ancient  culture,  of  subordinating  and  re- 
fining the  physical  to  and  by  the  superphysical, 
and  not  allowing  the  latter  to  be  coarsened  and 
degraded  by  and  into  the  former.  Some  faint,  often 
degenerate  and  perverted,  copy  of  what  we  can 
imagine  the  original  to  have  been,  may  yet  be 
seen  in  Southern  India.  Out  of  this  tax  were 
also  maintained  any  Brahmanas  and  ascetics 
who  were  nut  supported  by  private  gifts 
and  presents.  This  proportion  of  one-sixth  of 
rlie  tax  to  the  national  earnings  seems  to  indicate 
the  right  proportion  of  non-producers  to  producers. 

The  problems  of  administration  and  of  national 
defence  were  thus  solved  by  the  Kshattriyas. 
Only  a  small  proportion  of  these  joined  a  standing 
army,1  the  bulk  being  engaged  in  the  various 
departments  of  public  -H-rvice.  But  all  were 
trained  in  arms,  and  ready  to  take  to  them  when 
necessary.  And  all  were  animated  by  the  spirit 
of  protectiveness,  of  which  holds  true  the  saying  that 
"  greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this  that  he  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friend  ".  All  knew  that  the  re- 
ward of  the  Kshattriya  was  every  whit  as  great 
as  that  of  the  Brahmana : 

1  That  huge  standing  armies  are  not  necessary  for 
protection,  but  the  determined  spirit  of  liberty,  in- 
spiring all  the  members  of  even  a  small  community, 
is  proved  by  the  Swiss  people  to-day. 


272  MANU    IN    THK    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHV 

Two  souls,  O  King,  pierce  through  the  photo- 
sphere, the  ring-pass-not,  of  the  Sun,  ;iud 
win  the  moksha  that  is  hidden  in  Its  heart  : 
the  yogi  soaring  on  the  wings  of  yoga,  and 
the  hero  flinging  away  his  body  in  the  face 
of  an  unrighteous  enemy  and  dying  in  si 
just  cause.1 

When  this  spirit  failed,  and  lust  and  anger  in- 
creased, when  arrogance  and  luxurious  indolence 
appeared,  then  the  horrors  of  militarism  came  upon 
the  fair  lands  of  Mann,  the  earth  groaned  and  relief 
came  in  great  wars.  Again  shall  similar  causes 
breed  similar  results,  till  the  i-ace  as  a  whole 
learns  to  respect  and  observe  in  practice  the 
'platitudes'  and  'truisms'  of  elementary  morality > 
and  to  subordinate  the  physical  to  the  super- 
physical. 

Statesmen,  philanthropists,  preachers,  and  piously- 
minded  men  and  women,  lovers  of  their  kind, 
must  ever  hope  and  strive'  that  the  happy  change 
may  come  about  without  pain.  But  the  old 
books  prophesy  otherwise,  and  the  logic  of 
psycho-physics  seems  to  point  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. The  Kalki  A  v  <\  t  a  r  a  of  the  future — many, 
many  thousands  of  years  hence — is  said  to  be 
an  Avatara  of  great  destruction  ere  re-construction. 
And  psycho-physics  smiis  to  say  that  egoism, 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  278 

the  principle  of  sepai-ative,  exclusive,  combative 
existence,  can  end  only  in  combat.  That  which 
slays  others  must  itself  be  slain.  Even  as  be- 
cause of  unclean  ways  of  living,  the  majority  of 
individuals  die  untimely  and  too  early  deaths 
from  accidents  and  diseases,  even  so  must  the 
majority  of  nations  that  follow  unclean  and 
unpeaceful  ways  of  thought  perish  by  the 
violent  ways  of  war  and  degeneration  into  savage- 
ry. The  bulk  of  egoistic  selves  must  continue 
to  destroy  each  other's  bodies  by  the  slower 
processes  of  industrial  competition  or  the  quicker 
ones  of  war,  over  and  over  again,  until  they 
realise  that  this  struggle  cannot  bring  them  what 
they  seek.  Only  when  and  as  they  realise  this 
intensely,  when  they  become  really  surfeited  and 
deadly  tired  (v  a  i  r  a  g  y  a)  at  the  soul  with  the  present 
conditions,  will  they  become  ready  to  turn  towards 
(abhyasa)  and  be  born  into  the  nucleus  of  the  next 
Race,  and  then  expand  that  nucleus  into  the  full 
Race.  Even  so,  the  individual  who  realises  fully  the 
painful  consequences  of  the  ways  of  vice  and  sin 
takes  to  the  clean  and  temperate  life  and  attains 
the  more  permanent  if  quieter  joys  of  longevity. 
In  the  earlier  days,  the  needed  changes  of  caste, 
of  law,  of  manners  and  customs,  required  by  the 
gradual  change  of  the  psycho-physical  constitution 
of  individual  and  tribe  and  sub-race  might  have 
been  made  peacefully  and  cheerfully,  by  acts  of 
18 


274  MANT    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

special  or  general  legislation,  of  divine  Kings  and 
Seers,  when  thei'e  was  love  and  trust  between  them 
and  the  people.  But  whenever  there  was  not  such 
faith  and  affection,  in  the  distant  or  in  the 
recent  past,  or  is  not,  as  at  the  present  day, 
such  changes  are  brought  about  only  by  struggles 
and  revolutions.1 

In  connexion  with  the  duties  of  the  ruler,  we 
may  consider  Manu's  ideals  as  to  the  best  form 
of  Government.  He  evident!}'  did  not  approve 
of  an  autocratic  despotism,  however  benevolent, 
nor,  on  the  other  hand,  of  mass-representation 
and  democrac3r  and  anything  that  savored  of 
mob-rule. 

The  Kshattriya  King  is  not  an  autocrat  at  all, 
but  only  the  executive  arm  of  the  wisdom-stored 
head  of  the  community,  the  Brahmana  priest, 
educationist,  scientist,  philosopher,  legislator.  Where 


1  The  ware  of  the  Bhai'gava  Brahmanas  and  the 
Kshattriyas ;  of  Vasishtha  and  Yishvamittra,  in  which 
the  former  called  in,  into  India,  the  aid  as  allies 
of  Pahlavas,  Shakas,  Yavanas,  etc.,  from  outside  ;  of 
the  Kshattriyas  against  the  other  three  castes 
jointly,  etc.,  etc.,  are  illusti-ations  of  the  distant  past. 
The  recent  past  of  the  mediaeval  ages,  and  the 
present,  requires  no  illustration.  The  only  great  his- 
torical change  made  without  bloodshed,  in  the  present, 
is  the  separation  of  Norway  and  Sweden ;  but  solitary 
instance  as  it  is,  it  is  a  fact  of  great  good  augury. 
In  the  very  distant  past,  the  MftJt^l>h<lrata  says  that 
the  institution  of  marriage,  and,  again,  of  shraddlia, 
was  effected  by  an  act  of  legislation  of  the  Rshis. 


FAMILY    LJFK    AM"    ECONOMICS  275 

the  law  and  the  duty  are  unmistakably  laid 
down  in  the  Scriptures  (a  mil  ay  a),  the  ruler 
HiHKt  follow  them,  without  power  of  making 
changes : 

But  where  the  Scripture  is  not  explicit, 
or  new  legislation  is  necessary,  then  what 
the  well-instructed  and  perfected  Brahmanas 
declare  to  be  the  law,  that  shall  be  the  law. 
They  are  the  well-instructed  who  have,  with 
diligent  observance  of  the  ways  of  the 
virtuous,  acquired  the  sum-total  of  knowledge 
embodied  in  the  Vedas,  including  their  sub- 
sidiary sciences,  and  thus  have  the  power 
TO  demonstrate  and  make  visible  the  physical 
and  superpbysical  truths  of  revelation.  That 
which  an  assembly  of  ten 1  such,  or  even  of 
three  at  least,  may  decide  to  be  law,  that 
shall  be  taken  for  law.  The  assembly  of 
ten  shall  consist  of  one  who  knows  all  the 
three  Vedas  in  their  completeness ;  one  who 
has  specialised  as  an  expert  in  following  out 
arguments  and  consequences  and  the  distant 
effects  of  causes ;  one  who  has  specialised  in 
the  rules  of  interpretation  and  of  making 
inferences  regarding  the  texts ;  one  who  is 
more  particularly  versed  in  the  science  of 

1  In  later  Snirtis,  the  number  is  raised  to  twelve, 
fifteen,  twenty-one  and  so  forth ;  and  the  idea  of 
representation  is  more  prominent :  there  will  be  so 
many  of  each  caste,  and  of  each  ashrama.  In  the 
assembly  of  twenty -one,  there  is  to  be  one  Shudra. 


276  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

uords  and  their  meanings  in  different  re- 
ferences and  connexions ;  one  who  is  the 
administrator  of  the  law,  the  King  and  Chief 
Judge ;  one  senior  student  Brahma  chaii  ;  one 
respected  householder ;  one  honored  forest - 
dweller.  The  minimum  assembly  of  three 
shall  consist  of  three  specialists  in  the  three 
Vedas,  respectively  (for  these  include  all 
knowledge).  Verily,  that  is  good  law  which 
even  one  twice-born,  regenerate,  person,  possess- 
ing knowledge  of  the  whole  of  the  Veda, 
may  declare  to  be  the  law,  not  that  which 
may  be  proclaimed  by  ten  thousand  of  the 
ignorant.  They  who  have  not  observed  the 
vows  of  self-denial,  they  who  have  not  re- 
ceived the  Mystic  Words  (m  a  n  t  r  a  s)  that 
sanctify  and  confer  power,  they  that  belong 
to  their  caste  only  in  name — such  shall  not 
constitute  an  assembly  for  legislation  even  if 
they  should  gather  in  thousands.  Such  foolish 
persons,  unknowing  of  d  h  a  r  m  a,  living  in 
the  darkness  of  the  selfish  mind  unillumined 
by  the  light  of  Self-knowledge — whatever 
they  declare  to  be  d  harm  a,  impelled  by 
selfishness,  that  can  be  but  sin  and  evil 
which  will  recoil  on  them  a  hundredfold, 
(for  the  consequences  of  selfish  and  sinful 
measures  can  only  be  widespread  misery).! 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMIC  277 

Legislation  by  the  wise,  the  righteous,  the 
mature  in  years  and  in  experience,  who,  •  by  their 
.^elf-denial  and  knowledge,  are  worthy  of  all  trust, 
and  whom  the  people  more  than  trust,  whom 
they  revere;  who,  themselves  unwilling  to  take 
up  the  responsibility,  are  requested  by  the  King 
and  prayed  by  the  people  to  legislate  for  them 
—  such  is  ideal  legislation,  not  legislation  by  those 
who  diligently  exhibit  themselves  and  their 
qualifications  to  an  ill-instructed  public,  in  many- 
worded  speeches,1  in  order  to  prove  their  fitness  to 
receive  the  votes  of  electors,  often  drunken.  If 


:  H 


Mttntt,  xii.   108  —  115. 

1  But,  of  coui'se,  as  the  people  so  their  legislators. 
The  sttindpomt  and  the  ways  of  life  must  be  changed 
for  all  the  classes  of  the  nation  before  any  particular 
change  in  elective  methods  could  be  made  successfully. 


278  MANT    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

the  legislators  are  truly  wise,  numbers  do  not 
count;  for  truth  is  one,  whether  told  by  a  few, 
holding  amongst  themselves  all  the  needed  know- 
ledge, or  by  a  thousand  who  do  not  add  any 
more  to  the  data.  Only  error  with  its  myriad 
forms  needs  a  myriad  undisciplined  and  selfish 
hearts  for  its  utterance. 

The  underlying  principle  of  modern  systems  of 
representative  Government  is  the  safe-guarding  of 
the  interests  of  each  constituency ;  and  this  im- 
plies that  each  representative  is  struggling  with 
the  rest  that  he  may  profit  at  their  expense.  It 
•  is  the  same  principle  of  struggle  and  competition, 
imposing  itself  on  the  elders  of  the  nations,  who 
can  behave  no  better  and  no  more  wisely  than 
the  quarrelling  youngers.  It  is  not  the  common 
well-being  of  the  whole  that  is  thought  for  and 
worked  for,  with  patriarchal  love  and  anxious 
care  and  mature  experience,  in  the  senate-halls 
of  the  world's  '  civilised '  races,  to-day ;  it  is  the 
separative  well-being  of  each,  assumed  to  be 
necessarily  in  conflict  with  that  of  all  others, 
that  is  fought  for  and  defended  by  each  and  is 
attacked  by  all  others,  with  sarcasm  and  irony, 
and  gibe  and  jeer  and  derision,  and  retort  and 
rejoinder,  and  smart  self-display,  and  imputation 
of  motive  and  downright  invective,  and  even 
physical  assault.  What  wonder,  when  such  is  the 
•spirit  of  their  elders,  that  no  substantial  progress 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  279 

is  made  in  the  well-being  of  the  nations,  and  the 
solutions  of  their  many  difficulties  remain  as  far 
aff  as  ever  ?  Verily,  it  is  not  the  interested 
member,  with  only  one  interest  at  heart,  fighting 
against  all  other  interests,  but  the  disinterested  patri- 
arch having  all  interests  equally  at  heart,  who 
may  discover  the  right  course  of  action  which 
will  bring  profit  to  the  whole  nation,  a  profit 
evenly,  justly,  righteously  distributed  to  all  its  parts. 
This  lack  of  the  sense  of  proportion  of  any 
given  question  to  all  the  others  that  affect  the 
welfare  of  the  community  simultaneously  is  the 
source  of  constant  frustration  of  legislative  hopes 
and  wishes  and  acts  at  the  present  day.  Per- 
haps, in  the  purposes  of  Providence,  it  is  the 
congenital  corrective  of  the  disadvantages  of 
excessive  expertism. 

Immensely  more  complex  than  at  first 
appears  is  the  interdependence  of  business,  and 
far  closer  than  we  at  once  see  has  become  the 
integration  of  them.  An  involved  plexus  having 
coiitres  every  where  and  sending  threads 
everywhere,  so  brings  into  relation  all  acti- 
vities, that  any  considerable  change  in  one 
sends  reverberating  changes  among  all  the  rest.1 

But  the  majority  of  'expert'  legislators  to-day 
seem  oblivious  of  this  interdependence  and  the  single 
ideas  which  possess  them  take  no  account  of  the 
Ends  of  Life  as  a  whole  in  the  light  of  the 

1  Herbert  Spencer,  Principles  of  Sociology,  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  402. 


280  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

Science  of  the  Self.  The  stock  of  such  ideas 
too  is  very  limited,  besides.  The  blue-books  on 
any  given  question,  say  of  Excise  or  Octroi  or 
Irrigation,  will  be  found  to  mention  all  the  main 
alternative  measures,  and  new  legislation  consists 
mostly  in  getting  tired  of  one  and  taking  up 
another  of  these  same,  for  a  change. 

It  is  not  such  rapid  and  random  legislation  by 
casual  legislators  that  will  ameliorate  the  condi- 
tion of  mankind.  The  deeper  thinkers  of  even 
the  modern  West  have  recognised  that  legislators 
ought  to  be  a  class  apart,  who  should  be  in 
touch  with  the  avocations  of  the  others  only  so 
far  as  is  needed  to  give  them  a  living  know- 
ledge of  their  needs,  and,  for  the  rest,  should 
devote  themselves  to  study  of  the  questions  to 
be  dealt  with.  Hence  Manu's  ordinance  that  the 
knowers  of  the  Three  Vedas  should  legislate ;  and 
we  remember  that  thirty-six  years  in  the  home  of 
the  teacher  is  the  condition  of  that  knowledge. 

Yet  here  too  we  see,  as  in  other  matters,  that 
Manu's  dicta  are  followed  perforce  by  His  children* 
even  when  they  imagine  that  they  have  superseded 
wholly  and  improved  immensely  upon  the  ancient 
ways  with  entirely  original  new  ones,  of  representa- 
tion and  self-government,  and  so  forth.  In  the 
crowded  halls  of  Parliaments,  wherein  hundreds 
gather,  only  a  few  discuss — the  same  names  re- 
appearing constantly  in  the  reporting  journals — and 


FAMILY     LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  281 

the  silent  hundreds  troop  merely  through  the  division- 
lobbies.  The  only  result  of  the  effort  to  substitute 
new  ways  for  old,  in  the  fond  and  futile  craze  for 
the  feel  of  originality  and  therefore  superiority,  is 
that  even  the  forced  observance  of  the  old  ways 
under  new  names,  fails  to  bring  the  hoped-for  results 
—because  of  the  change  of  the  Spirit,  from  human- 
ism to  egoism. 

If  we  may  take  faith  in  Manu,  the  Father  of  our 
Race,  then  representative  governments  and  self- 
governments  of  the  existing  kinds  are  better  only 
than  malevolent  despotism.  They  are  not  better 
than  government  by  the  wise.  They  are  true 
government  only  when  the  higher  self  rules  the 
lower,  when  the  older  self-less  self  represents  and 
cares  for  the  younger.  But  that  is  government 
by  the  few  wise.  In  the  eai'ly  days,  it  prevailed ; 
but  it  approximated  to  a  benevolent  despotism. 
The  few  wise  ruled ;  the  many  ignorant  obeyed. 
Then  it  was  compassion  to  order,  and  gratitude  to 
obey.  It  will  probably  return,  in  the  future.  But 
as  the  many  will  be  far  more  evolved,  the  response, 
while  equally  immediate,  will  be  fully  intelligent, 
fully  cognisant  of  the  valid  reasons  for  each  order 
given  by  the  few.  And  the  government  will  thus  ap- 
proximate more  to  representative  self-government. 
None  can  uphold  self-government,  in  its  uttermost 
form  and  on  all  scales,  in  language  more  uncon- 
ditional than  the  Manu's  : 


282  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

All    control    by    another,    all    dependence    on 

another,     is    misery  ;    all    control    by    self,    all 

self-dependence  —  this,    this  is  happiness.     Such 

is,    in    brief,  the  very  character  and  mark  and 

essence  of  misery  and  of  happiness,  respectively.1 

But  His  '  self  '  is  the  higher  self  of  noble  thoughts, 

his  c  other  '  is  the  body,  the  lower  self  of  selfish  and 

ignoble   passions.      And    as    there    is    a    higher    and 

a    lower    self    in     an     individual,    so    is    there    also, 

in   a   nation,    a    wise  and  harmonious  (s  a  1  1  v  i  k  a) 

minority  and  a  turbulent  and  stupid    (r  a  j  a  s  a    and 

t  a  m  a  s  a)  majority.     When  the  higher  self  governs, 

there     is    happiness.     When    the    lower    self    reigns, 

there    are    endless    troubles    and    disasters.     In    the 

infancy    of   the   race   there    is    the    patriarchal  rule, 

benevolent     and    firm  ;    in    youth,    with    the    growth 

of    egoism,    the    higher    (represented    by   the    inno- 

cence   of   the    child    and    the  wisdom  of  the  grand- 

father)   wanes,    and   the   lower    (represented  by  the 

passing  .away  of  the  older  generation  and  the  removal 

of    control     from    over    the    egoistic    turbulence    of 

the    youth)   waxes  ;    and    there    is    struggle.     If    the 

lower    triumphs,     disease    and    savagery    supervene. 

If    the    higher,    then    peace    and    saintliness    and    a 

new    civilisation. 

Manu's    ideal,     thus,     is     self-government    of    the 
highest     and     deepest     kind,     government     of     the 


Mann,  iv.  160. 


FAMILY    UFK    AND    ECONOMICS  283 

limbs  by  the  head,  a  true  and  efficient  co-opera- 
tion between  the  organs  of  the  same  body,  each 
discharging  its  appropriate  function  for  the  benefit 
of  all.  In  this  we  may  also  note  the  difference 
in  spirit  between  the  co-operation  which  is  the 
ideal  of  the  Mann  of  the  fifth  Race,  and  the 
co-operation  which  will  be  the  ideal  of  the  Manu 
of  the  sixth  Race.  The  co-operation  of  the  former 
is  the  co-operation  between  differentiated,  he- 
terogeneous, parts  and  functions.  That  of  the 
latter  will  be  the  co-operation  between  simili- 
form,  homogeneous  parts  and  functions.  That 
excess  of  competition  and  egoism  have  grown  out 
of  the  working  of  the  ideal  of  the  Racial  Vaivas- 
vata-Manu,  is  only  in  the  same  way  that  non-assimi- 
lable and  poisonous  refuse  is  produced  at  the 
same  time  with  healthy  juices  out  of  food,  that 
poisonous  toxins  are  formed  in  the  body  by  the 
otherwise  normal  functionings  of  cells  and  tissues. 
Our  fifth  Race  Manu's  ideal,  of  co-operation 
amongst  the  differentiated,  launched  forth  at  the 
very  beginning  of  the  Aryan  Race,  to  serve  as 
archetypal  plan  for  the  whole  Race,  will  probably 
be  fully  realised  only  in  the  old  age  and  the 
seventh  sub-race  of  this  fifth  Race,  while  its 
child,  born  now  to  it  in  its  prime,  will  be  grow- 
ing up  side  by  side  with  it,  as  the  young  sixth 
Root-Race.1 

1  Apparently  the  type  of  the  first  sub-race  of  the 
fifth  Root-Race  is  living  on,  in  India,  indefinitely 
through  ups  and  downs,  for  this  very  reason,  vis.. 


284  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

While  dealing  with  the  functions  of  the  Kshat- 
triya,  we  may  touch  upon  Manu's  scheme  of 
punishments,  with  regard  to  which  much  hasty 
judgment  has  been  passed  against  Him.  A  few 
considerations  may  go  some  way  towards  making 
it  appear  possible  that  His  scheme  is  not  so  very 
bad  as  is  often  supposed  by  the  '  civilised '  critic 
(who  has  perhaps  never  read  Him  in  entirety),  as  com- 
pared with  the  schemes  invented  later  by  His  progeny. 
The  eighth  chapter  of  the  Samhita  deals  with 
punishments.  There  are  almost  as  many  verses  in 
it  of  warning  to  the  King,  the  judge,  the  magistrate, 
against  injustice,  as  to  the  subject  against  crime. 

that  it  may  reblossom  on  a  higher  level  as  the 
seventh  sub-race.  The  general  principle  also  is  that 
the  more ,  primary  forms  of  life  are  more  persistent 
than  the  later,  have  more  vitality  and  lasting  power,  if 
less  defmiteness.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  the 
second,  third,  fourth  and  fifth  sub-races,  issuing  out 
of  the  first,  have  all  come  back  and  deposited  their 
types  in  the  first,  as  the  sixth  also  will  presumably,  to 
help,  it  would  seem,  in  the  fuller  blossoming  of  the 
ruling  idea  of  the  whole  Root-Race  in  its  final 
manifestation  in  the  seventh  sub-race.  The  principles 
of  all  the  main  types  of  religion  corresponding  with 
the  main  types  of  sub-races  (and  planes  and  sub-planes 
of  matter)  are  to  be  found  in  the  all-comprehensive 
Dharma  of  Manu,  belonging  to  the  first  and  the 
seventh  sub-race,  viz.,  P  h  a  r  m  a-worship,  Buddha's 
wisdom- worship,  Chaldean  star- worship,  Egyptian 
nni mal-and-passion- worship,  Zoroastrian  fire-and-purity- 
worship,  Christian  and  Musalman  God-and-devotion- 
worship,  and  finally  all-comprehensive  Dharma  again 
as  ceremonial  magic-and-scientific-religion.  To  each  of 
this  corresponds  a  degenerate  and  evil  form. 


FAMILY    LIFK    AN1>    ECONOMICS  285 

It  cannot  be  said  off-hand  that  modem  codes  of 
criminal  procedure  would  not  be  improved  by  the 
inclusion  therein  of  similar  solemn  adjurations  to 
the  officials  engaged  in  the  work  of  justice.  In 
place  of  the  high  spirit  of  earnest  endeavor  to 
purify,  what  one  sees  but  too  often  to-day,  in  even 
the  highest  courts,  is  the  spirit  of  callousness,  of 
flippancy,  of  cutting  jokes  during  the  trial  of 
murder-cases,  of  '  smartness  '  and  '  fencing '  between 
advocate  and  witness.  This  is  inevitable  with  over- 
growth of  litigation  ;  and  that  overgrowth  is,  in 
turn,  the  equally  inevitable  consequence  of  the 
overgrowth  of  egoism,  restrained  just  enough  to 
be  kept  back  from  physical  wars  and  battles.  On  this 
point  Manu  lays  down  the  principle  which  is  recog- 
nised by  all  true  statesmen,  though  not  always 
observed  in  practice  by  administrators  : 

The  King  and  the  King's  servants  shall  not 
do   any   thing   that  might  incite  to  and  promote 
litigation,    though    neither    must  they  suppress 
any   suit   that    is  brought  to  them  by  parties.1 
The  principles  that  should  guide  the  judge  and 
govern  the   nature   and  the   amount  of  the  punish- 
ment  are   laid   down  thus  : 

The  King  who  punisheth  those  that  deserve 
not    punishment,  and  punisheth  not  those  that 


286  MAXU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

deserve      it — he     gathereth    infamy    here,    and 
descendeth     into     hells     hereafter.       The     first 
degree    of     punishment     is    warning,    by    word 
of    mouth  ;    the    second    is   public    censure    and 
degradation     in    status ;    the    third   is    fine    and 
forfeiture,    in   addition    to    these ;    and  the  last 
is    corporal    punishment     (ranging   from   whip- 
ping   to     death     and    including   imprisonment, 
infliction  of  wounds,  branding  and  mutilation) -1 
Where    a     common    man    guilty   of   a   crime 
would    be   fined   a   trifle,   a   ruler,    a    person  in 
a  position  of   power   and   authority,    should   be 
awarded  a  thousand  times  more  heavy  sentence. 
The     punishment    of    the     Vaishya    should   be 
twice    as    heavy     as   that   of   the    Shudra  ;  of 
the    Kshattriya,    twice   as  heavy  again ;    of  the 
Brahmaua,    twice    that   of   the    Kshattriya,    or 
even    four    times     as    heavy — for   he    knoweth 
the  far-reaching  consequences  of  sin  and  merit. 
The     King    should    restore     to    all  four   castes 
the    property    stolen  from  them  by  thieves  ;    if 
he   fails   to   do   so,   the  sin  of  the  thief  passes 
to  the  King.     By  confession,  by  repentance,  by 
self-imposed   penances,    by    study,   and  by  gifts 
of  charity,  the  sinner  and  the  criminal  washes 
away    his    crime.       The    man    who    is    held    to 
punishment  by  the  King,  becomes  verily  cleansed 
from    all    stain   of   his    offence,     is   restored    to 

1    Vide  the  commentaries  on  Manu. 


IAM1LY     IJPE    ANM>     K'»NO.\fICS  287 

his    oi-iginal     status,    and    goes    to  heaven    like 

the    doers  of  good  deeds."1 

Bhishma  explains,  in  detail,  in  the  Mahabharata, 
that  unclaimed  property  reclaimed  from  thieves 
and  robbers  should  be  applied  to  public  and  chari- 
table purposes  and  not  appropriated  by  the  King 
for  personal  enjoyment;  and  that  unjust  loss  to  the  tax- 
paying  and  law-abiding  subject,  by  the  crime  of 
others  whom  the  King  has  failed  to  restrain, 
should  be  made  good  to  the  subject  or  his  heirs, 
by  the  King,  out  of  his  treasury,  if  the  property 
cannot  be  recovered  from  the  thieves.  Warnings 
to  first  offenders,  especially  the  juveniles  —  this  is 
only  a  recent  discover}'  of  modern  civilisation, 


II 

_____ 
MIMIM  TH^T:    I 

H 
viii.  128,  129,  336,  337,  338,  40  ;  xi.  227  ;  viii.  318. 


288  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP   THEOSOPHY 

though  it  has  been  there  in  the  pages  of  Manu 
for  thousands  of  years  (or  at  least  hundreds,  even  by 
the  computation  of  the  modern  critical  Oriental 
scholar).  The  principle,  that  the  higher-placed 
in  the  social  scale  shall  be  the  more  responsible, 
for  purposes  of  punishment,  remains  yet  to  be 
stated  in  express  words  in  modern  law.  That  the 
sovereign  should  compensate  the  victim  of  crime 
amongst  his  subjects  is  not  even  dreamed  of.  And 
the  ex-convict  is  not  given  back  his  status  by 
modern  society  as  was  done  by  Manu's  community. 
All  this  is  overlooked  by  the  modern  student ;  and 
he  fastens  only  on  the  dozen  verses  in  which  Manu 
makes  the  Shudra,  and  to  a  lesser  extent,  Vai- 
shyas  and  Kshattriyas,  liable  to  'barbarous  '  forms 
of  corporal  punishment.  With  regard  to  these,  the 
following  points  should  be  taken  into  account : 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  possible  that  these 
verses,  not  many  more  than  a  dozen  in  number, 
which  exempt  the  Brahmana  from  and  subject  the 
others  to  such  punishment,  may  be  later  inter- 
polations. But  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  on  this. 
Thei'e  is  no  clear  proof  possible  that  they  are 
such  any  more  than  any  other  given  verse. 

In  the  second  place,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  many  statements  are  made  terrifying 
with  a  deterrent  purpose.  Penal  laws  should  be 
preventive  primarily  and  curative  secondarily. 
Even  modern  penal  codes  say  that  theft  shall  be 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  289 

punished  with  sentences  which  may  extend  to 
life-long  imprisonment.  But  the  actual  enforcement 
of  such  sentences  occurs  only  in  rare  and  extreme 
cases.  The  cases  and  verses  in  which  Manu 
prescribes  corporal  punishments  are  very  few ;  those 
in  which  he  ordains  fines  are  very  many.  Modern 
codes  prescribe  imprisonment  far  more  often.1 

Thirdly,  he  who  runs  may  read  that  the 
same  punishment  for  the  same  crime  will  not 
have  the  same  effect  upon  different  criminals. 
To  a  certain  class  of  young  selves  and  coarser 
bodies,  corporal  punishment  is  the  only  one  that 
will  be  of  effect.  To  another,  loss  of  property  is 
more  appropriate.  To  another,  public  disgrace, 
dishonor,  degradation  from  social  position,  would  be 
more  painful  and  less  acceptable  than  death  itself. 
To  a  fourth,  a  word  of  reproach  and  censure  is 
as  much.  Even  modern  and  civilised  nations 
practise  whipping  and  enforce  capital  punishment; 
extirpation  of  lobes  embodying  criminal  tendencies 
and  sterilisation  of  criminals  is  being  seriously 
discussed.2  And  it  is  difficult  to  say  that  mutilation 
is  always  worse  than  capital  punishment.  The 
denizens  of  the  jungle  prefer  to  bite  off  their 

1  Indeed  too  often  ;  statisticians  say  that  one  man 
in  every  ten  passes  through  the  jails  in  England.  Can 
this  mean  much  psychical  health  for  the  other  nine  ? 

*  The    State    of    Indiana    in  the  U.  S.  A.    has  actually 
passed    a   law   recently    for    the   mutilation   of    criminals 
of    a   certain    class. 
19 


290  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

own  limbs  themselves,  to  obtain  freedom  from 
traps  and  have  liberty  to  roam  about  at 
will,  rather  than  suffer  imprisonment.  To  other 
organisms  with  a  more  delicate  nervous  sys- 
tem, the  nervous  shock  of  mutilations  would 
mean  death  at  once.  Also,  to  the  person  with 
capacity  for  thinking  before  and  after  and  for 
repentance,  imprisonment  and  other  ways  of  punish- 
ment are  more  educative ;  to  those  whose  con- 
sciousness is  all  in  the  muscles,  such  imprison- 
ment would  mean  either  perpetual  sleep  and  in- 
dolence, or  fretting  to  death,  while  liberty  with 
loss  of  sinning  limb  would  be  more  educative. 

Fourthly,  the  words  of  Manu  do  not  always 
mean  what  they  are  often  interpreted  to  mean. 
Where  he  speaks  of  '  cutting, '  the  modern  reader 
hastily  understands  'cutting  ofP.  Where  he  means 
'  branding, '  the  latter  thinks  '  burning  out '. 
Where  he  means  imprisonment  or  other  minor 
corporal  punishment  by  the  use  of  a  generic  word, 
he  is  supposed  to  mean  capital  punishment  at 
once.1 

1  Compare  the  use  of  the  word  v  a  d  h  a  in  viii. 
129,  130,  and  the  explanations  of  the  commentators. 
So  in  poetry,  where  the  ancient  poet  speaks  of  a 
mushti-meya-katih,  '  a  waist  that  could  be  spanned  by  a 
hand ' —  quite  a  common  fact,  when  the  waist  is 
understood  to  mean  only  the  back-part,  as  k  a  t  i  does, 
the  modern  interpreter  understands  the  whole  of  the 
abdomen  as  well  as  the  small  of  the  back — and  so 
makes  out  an  obvious  absurdity ! 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  291 

Fifthly,  as  regards  the  barbarity  of  mu- 
tilations :  The  inexorable  law  of  nature  is  an  eye 
for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth.  While  it 
is  good  and  right  for  any  given  individual  to 
forgive  the  wrongs  done  to  him  by  another, 
Nature  does  not,  and  cannot  if  she  would,  for- 
give. There  is  no  sufficient  reason.  The  higher, 
the  inner,  Self  of  the  wrong-doer  registers  the 
wrong  done  as  a  debt  incurred,  and  insists  on 
paying  it  to  the  last  farthing.  Such  is  the  meta- 
physical modus  operatidl  of  the  Law  of  Karma. 
The  superphysical  (in  its  highest  form,  for  us), 
is  that  the  Solar  Heart  takes  the  place  of  the 
inner  Self,  and  certain  special  classes  of  rays  are 
the  means  of  communication  and  registration,  like 
nerves.  In  the  individual  organism,  the  law 
appears  as  the  working  of  the  faculty  of 
conscience  acting  in  appropriate  centres  in  the 
body,  where  the  sense  of  shame  and  shrinking 
and  misgiving  over  a  sinful  deed  are  felt,  and 
whence  punitive  reaction  issues  forth  later.  In  the 
national  organism,  the  judicial  court,  the  King, 
takes  the  place  of  the  heart  and  the  conscience. 
If  the  King  be  a  truly  divine  King,  gifted  with 
superphysical  vision,  and  so  closely  identified  in 
spirit  with  the  Gods  of  nature,  with  Yama,  the 
King  of  Kings,  that  he  can  see  infallibly 
what  the  punishment  by  nature  would  be  of  the 
criminal,  if  that  criminal  is  left  to  himself,  then 


292  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

he  may  righteously  award  that  punishment  himself 
and  do  the  work  of  Nemesis  without  blame,  indeed 
with  praise,  for  he  is  serving  the  Gods  of  righteous- 
ness. But  if  he  be  not  so  gifted,  then  indeed  it 
is  best  that  he  refrain  from  all  punishments  from 
which  the  general  feeling  of  the  public  of  his 
time  revolts,  and  inflicting  a  milder  and  therefore 
inadequate  punishment,  leave  to  Nature  to  supply 
the  deficiency  with  disease  and  other  physical 
suffering,  in  the  same  or  subsequent  births  ;  and 
win  for  himself  the  advantages  of  mercifulness, 
But  let  there  be  no  doubt  that  physical  suffer- 
ing to  an  exactly  equal  amount  must  be  the  por- 
tion of  him  who  has  caused  physical  suffering  to 
another ;  as  mental  for  mental.  The  fearful  ravages 
of  manifold  diseases  in  civilised  countries  are  not 
so  noticeable  in  the  epochs  and  the  countries  of 
the  '  barbarous '  punishments. 

Sixthly,  the  Brahmana  was  not  wholly  ex- 
empt from  corporal  punishment.  Eveiyone  is 
authorised  by  Manu  to  go  to  the  extent  of  slay- 
ing a  Brahmana  even,  in  self-defence,  or  when 
he  is  caught  in  flagrante  delicto  in  the  cases  of 
special  crimes.  When  we  remember  what  a  Mann's 
Brahmana  would  be  normally,  it  does  not  seem 
much  to  visit  him  with  punishment  other  than 
that  suited  for  the  more  worldly  frame,  for  a 
first  fall  into  sin  and  crime.  And  after  he  had 
'fallen'  and  lost  caste,  for  subsequent  offences 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  293 

he   would   be   treated   like   a   Shudra. 

Seventhly,  that  there  was  a  superphysic- 
al  science,  underlying  and  governing  the  award 
of  graduated  corporal  punishments,  may  be  gather- 
ed from  the  verses  dealing  with  the  expiations 
for  slaughter  of  animals,  which  also  are  cared  for 
by  Manu,  while  the  modern  '  civilised '  and  '  re- 
fined '  world  cares  for  them  only  as  edibles  or  as 
subjects  for  vivisection.  Those  verses  show  that 
from  the  standpoint  of  vital  force  (p  r  a  n  a) — as 
measurable  a  quantity  as  electricity  or  magnetism 
or  steam-power — the  destruction  of  the  whole  body 
of  a  minuter  animal  is  as  the  destruction  of  a  cell 
or  a  tissue  in  a  larger  animal  or  in  man.  And 
corporal  punishments  seem  to  have  been  graded 
and  apportioned  accordingly.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered that  Manu's  scheme  contains  the  germ  of 
every  subsequent  development  in  all  the  sub-races 
of  the  fifth  Race,  and  that  each  such  development 
has  its  use  and  merit,  when  confined  to  the  proper 
time,  place  and  circumstance,  but  becomes  eril 
only  by  excess,  by  distortion,  by  wrenching  apart 
from  its  appropriate  conditions. 

The  race  will  have  to  develop  for  long,  and 
indeed,  must  grow  largely  out  of  the  need  for  any 
punishments  at  all,  before  the  ideal  Kings  will 
come  again.  Thus  does  the  Vishnu  Bhagavata 
describe  the  first  King,  Prthu,  incarnation  of 
Vishnu,  standard  for  all  subsequent  Kings : 


294  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

In  himself  the  King  combined  the  glories 
of  all  the  great  ruling  Gods  of  the  worlds. 
By  tender  fostering  of  the  peoples,  he  made 
manifest  his  Vishnu-nature.  Attracting  and 
delighting  the  hearts  of  his  subjects,  by  the 
mild  grandeur  and  nobility  of  thoughts  and 
words  and  deeds,  he  was  a  very  King  of 
gentleness  and  beauty,  beyond  even  the  moon 
of  the  autumn-time.  Like  the  sun  he  warmed 
the  earth  and  drew  from  it.  only  to  give 
back  again  in  purer  streams.  Like  the  fire 
in  unslightable  splendor ;  like  Indra  uncon- 
querable ;  like  the  Earth  in  patient  forgiving- 
ness  ;  in  gratifying  the  yearnings  of  men, 
like  heaven ;  raining  ever  all  good  things, 
like  the  clouds ;  unfathomable  like  ocean ;  in 
sattva,  vast  as  Mem,  King  of  the  mountains ; 
like  the  Lord  of  D  h  a  r  m  a  in  the  spread  of 
education;  like  Himalaya,  as  the  abode  of 
inexhaustibe  wonders ;  in  riches  like  Kubera, 
and  in  guardedness  like  Varuua ;  like  the 
all-pervading  wind  in  might  of  body  and 
soul ;  resistless  like  the  Lord  of  the  Burning- 
ground  Himself  ;  beautiful  as  Cupid ;  self-de- 
pendent like  the  lion  ;  in  tender  compassion  for 
the  people,  like  the  great  Father  Manu  Him- 
self ;  in  sovereignty  over  all,  like  the  Creator ; 
in  soul-wisdom,  like  Brhaspati,  the  Teacher 
of  the  Gods  ;  and  like  Vishnu  in  realisation 
and  fulfilment  of  the  Universal  Self.1 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  295 

And  as  the  sovereign  is  and  ought  to  be,  so 
wil'  every  public  servant  be  and  ought  to  try  to 
be  —  a  centre  of  trust  and  protectiveness. 

The  youngers  invariably  follow  (and  indeed 
outrun)  the  example  set  by  the  older  and 
greater.1 

Such,  then,  is  the  vocation  of  the  Kshattriya, 
viz.,  to  deal  satisfactorily  with  all  problems  of 
internal  aid  external,  civil  and  military  adminis- 
tration. 

The  Vaifhya  as  Agriculturist  and  Merchant. 

The  Brahmanas  and  the  Kshattriyas,  having 
thus  charge  of  the  educational  and  administrative 


-  u 


?JHT?rf 


:  I 
:  H 


Vishnu  Bh/lgavata,  IV.  xxiii.  54-61. 

R;  I 

Bhagavad-  Gitd. 


296  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

duties  of  the  State,  were  freed  from  productive 
labor.  The  problems  relating  to  wealth-production 
were  assigned  to  the  Vaishyas.  The  duties  of 
the  Vaishya  are  : 

Charity,    sacrifice,     study ;     the     breeding  of 
and   dealing   in   cattle    and     domestic    anirials 
of    all    kinds ;     all     the     ways    of     trade    and 
commerce  ;   banking ;    and   agriculture.1 
Study    and    sacrifice   are   as  iiicumbeni  upon   the 
Vaishya  as  upon  the  two  others.     He  nrust  perform 
them    daily,    as    included    in   the    five  daily   sacri- 
fices   of    the   twice-born,    on    pain    of  losing   status. 
And  charity  is  even  more  within  his  province  than 
within    that  of  the    others.      After  these   come  his 
special  duties.    The  order  in  which  they  are  mention- 
ed in  the  Bhagavad-Gita  is  perhaps  more  significant : 

Agriculture,    cow-keeping,   trade.2 
The    first    two    are  the  primary  means  of  supply- 
ing   the    necessaries    of  life  :  the  third    its  luxuries. 
Hence    those    two    are    mcst     emphasised,    though 
many  kinds  of  trade  are  mentioned.3 

By  that  perversion  of  truth  which  is  the  charac- 
teristic of  egoism,  itself  being  the  inverted  opposite 


Manu,  i.  90. 
xviii.  44. 


3  Manu,   ix.  326-333. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  297 

of  the  Universal  Self  and  all-embracingness,  the 
production  of  food,  from  having  been  the  highest 
kind  of  activity  in  the  land,  has  now  come  to  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  lowest  and  most  unintelli- 
gent, the  work  of  the  'illiterate  ploughman  and 
peasant'.  It  was  not  so  in  the  early  days.  Every 
healthy  article  of  food  was  honored  as  nectar 
(amrtam),  or  as  representative  of  the  nectar,  the 
elixir,  of  life,  which  makes  continued  existence 
possible  for  the  embodied  self. 

Honor  the  food,  and  take  it  praisefully  and 
thankfully.  Rejoice  to  see  it,  welcome  it 
cheerfully.  Food  thus  honored  ever  bestows 
strength  of  muscle  and  virility  of  nerve. 
Eaten  with  discontent  and  grumbling,  it 
destroys  both.i 

This  spirit  of  simplicity  and  reverence  in  what 
are  now  regarded  as  petty  matters,  though  really 
all-important,  this  sense  of  the  earnestness  of  life 
in  all  departments  of  it,  this  refinement  of  inno- 
cent and  high-aspiring  feeling  in  connexion  with 
daily  routine,  is  the  characteristic  of  the  whole 
system  of  the  ancient  culture.  If  it  could  be 
established  anew,  then  even  from  the  most  '  practical  ' 


OT 

KlftJVl  H 

Manu,  ii.  54,  55. 


298  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THE080PHY 

and  '  matter-of-fact '    standpoint,  much  profit  would 
accrue  to  the  race. 

If  the  daily  food  were  treated  in  the  spirit  or- 
dained by  the  Manu,  there  would  be  much  less 
waste  in  the  homes  of  the  rich,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  much  less  lack  in  the  homes  of  the  poor,  on 
the  other ;  and  there  would  be  much  less  disease 
of  body  and  mind  in  both,  caused  in  the  one  by 
ill-feeding  and  overfeeding,  and  by  underfeeding  and 
ill-feeding  in  the  other.  For  body  and  mind  go 
together.  It  is  possible  to  write  the  history  of 
nations  and  races  in  terms  of  their  dietary.  Every 
distinctive  phase  of  civilisation  has  its  distinctive 
foods.  The  G~dd  classifies  foods,  as  everything  else, 
into  pure,  stimulating  and  dulling  (s  a  1 1  v  i  k  a, 
r  a  j  a  s  a,  and  t  a  m  a  s  a) .  As  the  quality  of  the 
food,  such  is  the  quality  of  the  body  and  mind  of 
the  feeders  thereon.  The  two  act  and  react  on 
and  help  to  maintain  each  other.  The  gentle  mind 
needs  gentle  foods ;  and  gentle  foods  produce 
gentleness  of  mind.  The  egoistic  minds  that  love 
to  feel  and  call  themselves  '  strong/  love  also 
strong  meats  and  drinks ;  and  the  '  strong '  meats 
and  drinks,  having  their  origin  in  blood-guiltiness, 
lead  on  to  more  bloodshed ;  they  breed  and  nourish 
the  races  that  are  always  lusting  and  ravening  to 
ravish  and  slaughter  each  other.  All  life,  on  all 
planes,  is  metabolism,  assimilation  of  food  and 
rejection  of  refuse.  Hence  the  finer  kinds  of 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  299 

life    must    go    together    with    the    finer    kinds    of 
food. 

The  Upanishat  makes  the  extreme  statement  : 

When  the  food  is  pure,  the  intelligence, 
the  mind  (the  sattva)  becometh  pure.  When 
the  mind,  the  soul,  the  subtler  astral  and 
causal  bodies,  become  pure,  the  memory  of 
past  births  is  attained  with  clearness  and 
certainty.  When  the  memory,  the  know- 
ledge of  endless  past  and  future,  is  attained, 
then  the  knots  of  the  heart,  the  egoistic 
attachments  of  the  self,  unravel  and  become 
loosened  of  themselves  under  the  touch  of 
the  Univei-sal  Self.  And  then,  to  such  a 
self,  the  Great  Initiator,  the  Lord  Sanatku- 
mara,  unveileth  the  Light  that  is  beyond  the 
Darkness,  the  Lord  whom  they  call  Skanda, 
'  dropped  '  from  the  Shukra  (Venus)  of  Shiva, 
through  many  mothei-s,  the  Lord  who  slayeth 
Tarakasura,  the  enemy  that  prevents  selves 
from  '  crossing  beyond  '  initiation.1  .... 

Food  verily  is  Brahman.2 

Manu  also  says  that  the  twice-born,  clean  in 
food  and  therefore  in  body  and  mind,  innocent  of 
slaughter,  who  studies  the  secrets  contained  in  the 


r 

Chhiindogya  Upanisliat,  vii.  26. 
Brhaddranyaku. 


300  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

Vedas  diligently,  day  by  day,  will  recover  the  lost 
memory  of  past  births  and  thereby  attain  to 
heights  of  spirituality  and  bliss  unending.1 

Such  memory  was  not  uncommon  in  the  older 
time,  and  will  not  be  in  the  future  again.  But 
clean  living  is  the  insuperable  condition  of  the 
thinning  of  the  veil  : 

Give  not  the  messed-up  leavings  of  food 
to  anyone.  Eat  not  between  the  fixed  and 
proper  meal-times.  Eat  not  again  while  the 
last  meal  remains  undigested.  Go  not  any- 
where uncleansed  after  a  meal.  Anxiously 
avoid  over-eating  ;  for  it  goes  against  health, 
against  the  functioning  of  the  higher  mind 
and  therefore  against  the  hopes  of  heaven, 
against  the  ways  of  the  virtuous,  for  it 
breeds  gross  passions,  and  against  the  rules  of 
propriety  and  equitable  division  of  food 
amongst  all  in  the  world.  Take  the  clean 
and  bloodless  foods  as  far  as  possible.  It  is 
true  that  the  trend  of  the  worldly  mind,  on 
the  path  of  pursuit,  is  in  the  direction  of 
flesh-food  and  spirituous  drinks  and  physical 
loves  and  lusts  ;  and  it  may  be  said  there- 
fore that  there  is  no  sin  in  these,  especially 


:5fTl     wim  Mlh**  II 


H 

Mann,  iv.  148,  149. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  301 

in  regulated  forms  (and  for  the  Kshat{riya 
and  the  Shudra).  Yet  refraining  from  them 
bringeth  high  result.  Not  without  the 
slaughter  of  animals  may  flesh  be  procured; 
and  the  slaughter  of  breathing  beings  is  not 
conducive  to  heaven  ;  therefore  should  flesh- 
foods  be  avoided.  He  who  taketh  not  into  his 
mind  the  wish  to  tie  up  and  torture  and 
slay  innocent  living  things,  he  who  wisheth 
well  to  all,  he  shall  be  blessed  with  lasting 
happiness.  He  who  slayeth  none,  whatso- 
ever he  thinks,  whatsoever  he  plans, 
whatsoever  he  sets  his  mind  on,  that  shall 
be  achieved  successfully  and  Avithout  pain.  1 

The  use  of  spirituous  drinks  and  flesh-foods 
and  physical  loves  are  natural  to  human 
beings,  at  this  stage  of  evolution  ;  no  induce- 
ment thereto  by  order  of  law  is  needed. 


?T  *?i 


Mann,  ii.  56,  57  ;  v.  56,  48,  46,  47. 


302  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Restraint  and  regulation  of  them  is  needed  and 
that  is  provided  by  means  of  legally  solemn- 
ised marriage,  and  the  laboriously-conditioned 
sacrifices  in  which  is  reluctantly  permitted 
the  bloodshed  of  solitary  animals,  and  the 
taking  of  specially-prepared  liquor,  and  that 
too  is  often  limited  to  the  mere  smelling  of 
it.' 

The  provision  of  clean  physical  foods  and 
drinks  and  all  other  sinless  necessaries  of  life  to 
the  whole  community  was  thus  entrusted  to  the 
Vaishya  —  a  duty  no  less  high,  no  less  strenuous, 
than  the  duty  of  providing  clean  superphysical 
mental  and  spiritual  foods,  which  was  entrusted 
to  the  Brahmana.  If  the  latter  was  the  custodian 
of  the  Divine  Word  (S  hab  d  a-Brahman),  the 
former  was  the  custodian  of  the  Divine  Food 
(Ann  a-B  r  a  h  m  a  n)  .  The  most  benignant  aspect 
of  the  consort  of  Shiva  is  named  "  She  who  is 
ever  full  of  corn"  (Anna-purna,  Ceres). 
Looked  at  in  such  spirit  of  earnestness  and 


-»i»tii 


iiil? 


Vishnu  Bhi'igavata,  XI.  v.  11. 

Yet  further,  these  blood  and  drink  sacrifices  were 
also  made  to  subserve  certain  superphysical  purposes  ; 
the  slaying  of  the  animal  body,  specially  selected, 
often  helped  to  set  free  a  human  soul  imprisoned 
therein  for  exceptional  karmic  reasons  ;  and  the  rare 
s  o  m  a-1  a  t  a  juice,  used  for  drink,  had  special  psy- 
chical effects.  From  yet  another  standpoint,  for  an 
allegorical  explanation  of  some  of  such  sacrifices,  see 
the  Pranaca  Vdda,  Sec.  III. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AXD    ECONOMICS  303 

reverence,  the  simple  duties  of  tillage  and  of 
the  household,  the  tending  of  the  fires,  the 
feeding  of  the  children  and  the  guests,  acquire 
a  loveliness  greater  than  all  the  artificial  gla- 
mor that  the  work  of  tongue  and  pen  has 
acquired  in  modern  times.  This  work  of  tongue 
and  pen  is  but  humble  and  subservient  means  to 
the  happy  home  as  end.  The  modern  West  says 
it  honors  woman.  Surely,  it  only  falsely  pretends  to 
do  so.  Did  it  really  honor  woman  and  woman's 
gentle  and  noble  special  functions,  would  there 
ever  have  arisen  this  unnatural  craze  for  woman's 
rights,  this  fighting  for  c  equality '  with  men,  in- 
stead of  th"e  feeling  of  l  identity '  ?  Indeed  not. 
But  the  concrete  mind,  which  the  fifth  sub-race 
has  developed,  can  look  at  the  surface  only,  and  so 
ever  makes  false  and  superficial  racial  generalisa- 
tions. The  proof  that,  even  in  these  degenerate 
times,  the  East  honors  woman  more  than  the  West 
is  that  there  are  no  suffragettes  here  yet — though 
perhaps  the  day  is  not  distant  on  which  the 
East  will  also  enter  on  this  phase  of  mind,  to 
learn  its  lessons. 

The  noblest  sermon  that  the  Buddha  uttered 
is  a  song  in  praise  of  the  simple-hearted  minis- 
tries and  loving  offices  of  the  household,  between 
the  members  of  the  family,  the  relatives,  the 
friends,  the  guests.  It  is  only  in  the  immature 
'youth'  of  the  'mind/  at  whatever  stage  the 


304  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

individual  or  racial  'body'  might  be,  when  the 
emotions  are  vague,  the  thoughts  undefined,  the 
feeling  of  pseudo-infinite  potentialities  which  makes 
newness  and  romance  not  crystallised  into  a 
concrete  actuality,  that  the  familiar  things  of 
life  are  felt  as  commonplace  and  beneath  aspira- 
tion. Later  on,  with  greater  experience,  the  jiva 
discovers  that  the  powers  and  potencies  of  an 
avatar  a  are  not  too  high  to  subserve  the  hap- 
piness of  the  ideal  home,  and  that  the  home  ever 
appears  as  the  ideal  goal  of  the  p  r  a  v  r  1 1  i-half 
of  life,  on  a  higher  and  higher  level,  as  the 
qualities  of  the  j  I  v  a  unfold  in  greater  and 
greater  degree. 

The  householder  is  the  elder  of  the  J3rah- 
machari,  and  even  of  the  forest-dweller,  yea, 
even  of  the  renouncer  ;  for  it  is  he  who  main- 
tains them  all,  with  physical  and  even  men- 
tal food.1 

The  Mahabharata  tells  how  Krshna  went  as 
ambassador  to  Duryodhana,  to  make  one  final  at- 
tempt to  avoid  the  Great  War.  Duryodhana  pressed 
hospitality  on  him,  but  Krshna  declined  and  went 
to  Vidura's  house  instead. 

Only  that  may  be  eaten  which  affection 
brings  with  eagerness,  oi'  which,  misfortune 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  305 

brings  of  necessity.  Thou  lovest  us  not, 
0  King  !  and  no  adversity  compels.1 
So  he  went  to  Yidura.  And  who  was  Yidura  ? 
He  was  Yama  himself,  the  God  of  Death  and 
Justice,  who,  dreadfully  tired  of  meting  out  punish- 
ment to  unhappy  sinners,  age  after  age,  took 
advantage  of  a  doom  laid  upon  him  by  the  Rshi 
Ani-Mandavya  for  some  slight  error  of  judgment  in 
a  case,  and  came  on  to  this  earth  to  have  a  real 
good  time  with  babies  and  friends.  So  when 
Krshna,  satisfied  with  his  faithful  servant's  tend- 
ance, smiled  upon  him  and  offered  boons,  Yidura, 
who  had  soul-content  and  wanted  nothing,  but 
must  not  slight  the  Lord's  kind  mood,  asked  these 
boons  : 

May  I  ever  take  joy  in  Thee,  my  Master  ! 
and  may  my  house  be  ever  full  of  things 
good  to  eat  and  of  babies  clamoring  for 
them,  and  of  guest-friends  able  to  appreciate 
them  !  - 

Indeed  they  are  deceived  by  fortune,  cheated 
by  a  cruel  fate  of  the  only  joys  which  are  at  all 
adequate  compensation  for  bearing  the  load  of 
flesh  called  the  human  body,  who  are  too  rich  or 


,   Udyoga  Parva. 
Bull  Bh<~rat'a. 


20 


306  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

too  clever  to  wash  the  little  limbs  of  their  babies 
with  their  own  hands  or  serve  their  guests  them- 
selves. It  is  the  high  privilege  of  the  Vaishya 
of  Manu  to  taste  this  great  joy  day  after  day  in 
a  degree  greater  than  is  permitted  to  the  others; 
and  the  diligent  service  of  the  earth-mother  and 
the  cow-mother  is  the  only  means  of  securing  this 
high  joy. 

The  d  h  a  r  m  a  that  any  one  performeth,  the 
merit  of  good  works  that  any  one  gathereth — 
three  parts  thereof  belong  to  him  who 
provideth  the  food  wherewith  the  worker 
of  merit  worketh,  and  only  one  belongeth  to 
himself.1 

Thus  high  is  the  calling  of  the  Vaishya,  the 
tiller  of  the  soil,  the  giver  of  food — almost  more 
important  than  any  other ;  thus  high  is  the  re- 
compense offered,  by  the  ancient  culture,  to  '  pro- 
ductive '  labor  out  of  the  proceeds  of  '  unproduc- 
tive '  labor.  The  wives,  the  husbands,  the  heads 
of  households,  the  leaders  of  society,  if  they  re- 
alised this  fact,  would  be  less  likely  to  give  their 
souls  up  to  the  small  talk  of  the  smart  set,  and 
to  the  fit  and  the  fashionable  cut  and  the  richness  of 
material  of  their  dresses.  The  verse  quoted  indi- 
cates the  proper  proportion  between  the  two  also, 
as  also  does  the  normal  and  healthy  proportion 


FAMILY    LIFE    AX1>    KfoXuMICS  307 

of  the  various  parts  of  a  well-built  human  body, 
to  which  the  castes  correspond.  Obviously,  the 
bulk  of  the  people  must  be  Vaishyas,  if  the 
national  body  is  to  be  healthy  and  well-proportioned, 
else  would  the  head  and  the  arms  overbalance  the 
trunk  and  the  lower  limbs.  Even  the  Shudras 
in  a  nation  must  not  be  very  many,  not  so  many 
by  far,  as  the  Vaishyas.  The  legs  and  feet 
are  very  small  in  volume,  compared  with  the  trunk 
and  thighs.  Too  many  Shudras,  too  many  servants, 
can  only  mean,  on  the  one  hand,  a  dangerous 
excess  of  luxuriousness  and  indolence  in  the  other 
classes,  and  on  the  other,  would  mean  that  the 
aggregate  amount  of  soul-wisdom  that  is  the 
most  precious  possession  of  the  twice-born  is 
smaller,  in  the  nation,  than  the  amount  of  igno- 
rance ;  that,  therefore,  the  factors  and  forces  of 
law  and  order  and  harmony  and  affection  are 
weaker,  in  that  society,  than  the  elements  of  error 
and  disorder,  natural  to  the  child-stage  of  the  jiva. 

The  kingdom  wherein  Shudras  preponderate 
over  the  twice-born,  and  wherein  error  and  lack 
of  the  higher  wisdom  are  therefore  rampant  — 
that  kingdom  shall  surely  perish  before  long, 
oppressed  with  the  horrors  of  misgovernment 
and  epidemics  and  famines.1 


II 


Manu,  viii.  °2'2. 


308  MANL     IN    THE    LIGHT   Or    THEOSOPHY 

Even  from  the  standpoint  of  the  modern  spirit 
— which  ever  asks  what  is  the  cash-value  of  a 
measure — it  will  indeed  '  pay '  sovereigns  and 
statesmen  to  promulgate  diligently  the  Science  of 
the  Self.  Then  will  men  strive  less  against  each 
other  with  might  and  cunning  and  foul  ways  ; 
then  will  there  be  real  peace,  inner  as  well  as 
outer ;  and  out  of  peace  will  arise  great  profit 
to  all ;  and  because  to  all,  therefore  to  each.  In 
the  old  scheme,  the  Brahmana,  the  Kshattriya,  the 
Vaishya,  all  these  had  for  prime  duty,  "  sacrifice, 
charity,  study " ;  all  were  twice-born  equally,  in 
respect  of  the  soul-knowledge  which  makes  the 
man  regenerate,  all  knew  equally  the  principles 
of  the  Science  of  the  Self,  the  practical  psychology 
and  metaphysics  which  only  make  it  possible  to 
rule  a  kingdom  or  a  household  wisely  and  well. 
And  these  three  constituted  three-fourths  of  the 
population,  at  the  least.  What  wonder  that  a 
nation  should  live  long  with  such  conditions  of 
health  ! 

That,  besides  this  essential  soul-knowledge,  the 
Vaishya  was  required  to  possess  much  other 
knowledge  of  many  concrete  sciences,  and  a  per- 
fect mastery  of  economics,  and  was  not  to  be  a 
e  mere  shop-keeper '  and  a  '  mere  peasant '  will 
Jje  apparent  from  the  following  injunctions  : 

He  should  know  all  about  mineral  products, 
metals,     gems     and     jewels,     also    pearls   and 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  309 

corals,  perfumes,  medical  drugs,  the  science 
and  art  of  agriculture  and  horticulture,  the 
varieties  of  land  arable  and  sterile,  all  about 
weights  and  measures  and  standards,  the 
geography  of  the  world  and  the  countries 
wherein  different  objects  of  trade  and  com- 
merce are  produced,  the  science  and  art  of 
cattle-breeding,  and  so  forth.' 

No  wonder  that  study  was  made  part  of  the 
daily  duties  of  the  merchant  and  agriculturist. 
The  daily  paper  is  the  modern  form  in  which 
Manu's  indefeasible  mandate  is  observed. 

One  point  may  be  noted  in  passing  on  to  the 
fourth  class.  On  the  subject  of  machinery,  inci- 
dentally, Manu  says  that  the  starting  and  working 
of  great"  machines  and  factories  ,  and  also  of  mines, 
etc.,  by  individuals,  is  one  of  the  sins  that  rank 
next  after  the  heinous  ones  (an  u  p  a-p  a  t  a  k  a)  3. 
Those  who  have  followed  the  preceding  portions 
of  this  exposition,  and  have  observed  the  conse- 
quences of  the  system  now  in  vogue,  will  easily 
understand  the  reason  for  this  ordinance.  To  make 
competition  subservient  to  co-operation,  to  give  it 
the  beautiful  complexion  of  generous  emulation, 

1  Manu,  ix.  328—333. 

2  The    difference   between    the    use  of  large  and  small 
machines    is    pointed    out    elsewhere. 


Mann,  xi.  63,  64,  66. 


310  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

of  noble  rivalry  in  deeds  of  good,  instead  of  the 
deathly  hues  of  greed  and  grasping  and  strugg- 
ling for  moreness  of  personal  sense-pleasures  and 
possessions,  to  make  life  simple,  aesthetic,  artistic, 
full  of  fine  feeling  and  poetry,  for  all  and  each — 
such  is  the  ideal  of  the  Laws  of  Manu.  The 
consequences  of  the  current  system  are  the  reverse  ; 
the  struggle  for  bread  and  for  luxuries  is  made 
only  the  more  bitter,  the  products  of  industry 
are  made  only  the  more  '  cheap  and  nasty/ 
vulgar,  friable,  trumpery,  wasteful,  all  life  is 
coarsened.  The  more  thoughtful  artists,  in  the 
modern  West  also,  have  begun  to  raise  notes  of  warn- 
ing against  this  vulgarisation  of  mind  and  of 
Lakshmi  as  the  first  consequence  of  over-com- 
petition, and  the  mutual  savage  quarrels  and 
battles  and  internecine  destruction  as  the  next. 
Manu's  Yaishya  gathers  and  holds  wealth  only 
for  the  use  of  others,  not  for  his  own  luxury ; 
and  if  he  should  start  factories  using  machinery, 
it  should  be  not  in  the  individualist  but  the  co- 
operative spirit,  as  if  it  were  a  State-business, 
not  his  own.  So  only  will  be  the  evils  of 
machinerv  avoided. J 


.  U 
Mahubhcirata,  Shanti,  ch.  xxv. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  311 

The  Shudra  as  Manual   Worker 

The  fourth  class  or  type  of  human  being,  the 
Shudra,  was  entrusted  by  Manu  with  the  charge  of 
the  problems  of  service  and  labor.  If  he  had  no 
rights  and  privileges,  neither  had  he  any  heavy 
responsibilities  or  harassing  duties,  or  cares  for 
others.  He  had  but  to  do  as  he  was  told,  and  was 
assured  of  all  the  food  and  clothing  that  he  need- 
ed. Briefly,  he  was  treated  as  a  child. 

The  Shudra  can  do  no  wrong,  i  And  he 
who  cannot  sin,  deserves  no  sacraments.  He 
has  no  duty  to  perform,  such  as  the  others 
have ;  but  there  is  no  prohibition  to  him  to 
take  up  such  duties,  if  he  feels  able  and 
inclined  to  do  so.  2 

The  modern  idea,  that  he  was  made  a  slave  by 
Manu,  in  the  worst  sense  of  the  word,  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  an  attempt  by  the  modern  to 
debit  the  ancient  with  its  own  sins  and  short- 
comings. Because  the  modern  egoistic  mind  is 
always  seeking,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  to 
humiliate  others,  and,  as  natural  consequence,  is 
always  suffering  humiliation  itself,  by  reaction — it 
thinks  that  itself  is  perfect  and  that  the  ancient 

1  Contrast  this  with  the  modem  view,  that  the 
highest,  the  King,  can  do  no  wrong. 

"  'T  51?  TRT^  Wifad  ^  *i*=m<*i?f?T  I 

n 

Manu.  x.  126. 


312  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

was  what  itself  really  is.  The  mediaeval  ages  of 
India,  the  post-Mahabharata  period,  and  the  pre- 
sent, are  no  more  and  no  less  degenerate,  in  this 
respect,  and  in  the  matter  of  the  institutions  of 
slavery  and  piracy,  etc.,  than  the  same  ages  of 
the  West.  But  the  ideal  of  Manu  is  different.  The 
verse  has  been  quoted  before  in  which  the  Shudra 
is  referred  to  as  "  the  family-friend  ".  The  statement 
that  he  corresponds  to  the  foot,  makes  him  an 
integral  part  of  the  body  politic,  and  implies  that 
his  well-being  is  to  be  cared  for  as  much  as  that 
of  the  rest.  It  is  said  that  the  Kshattriya,  the 
Vaishya,  and  the  Shudra  cannot  properly  be  guests 
in  the  house  of  the  Brahmana,  which  cannot  and 
must  not  be  wealthy  ;  but  it  is  added  that  if  they 
should  happen  to  come  in,  hungry,  not  finding 
other  hosts,  then  the  Brahmana  is  to  feed  them 
too.  And  the  Vaishya  and  the  Shudra  are  men- 
tioned together  : 

If  Vaishya  and  Shudra  should  arrive  as 
guests,  then  let  the  Brahmana  feed  them  also 
together  with  his  retainers,  practising  the 
rule  of  benevolence.  1 

The    very  principle   which  governs   differentiation 
of  caste,  in  the  later  day,  is  declared  thus  : 


1  ^ 


^«  . 

Manu,  iii.  110. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  313 

Every  one  is  born  a  Shudra.  The  second 
birth  conies  with  the  sacrament  of  the  sacred 
thread.  Till  the  birth  into  the  Veda,  every 
individual  remains  a  Shudra.  l 

Per  contra,  as  already  mentioned  before,  in  the 
second  lecture,  the  whole  human  race  began  as 
the  casteless  sons  of  Brahma,  or  Brahmanas  in  the 
generic  etymological  sense,  and  gradually  differenti- 
ated into  various  classes  : 

Those  in  whom  restlessness  (rajas)  prevailed, 
and  loves  and  hates,  and  the  capacities  for 
enjoyments  and  for  daring  adventures,  they 
turned  from  white  to  red  and  became 
Kshattriyas.  Those  in  whom  stayingness 
(tarn  as)  appeared,  and  who  clung  to  the  land 
and  the  cattle,  they  became  the  yellow 
Vaishyas.  The  others  who  grew  fond  of 
slaying  others,  avaricious,  ready  to  do  any- 
thing, and  gave  up  the  ways  of  cleanliness, 
they  became  the  dark  Shudras.  '2 


Mann,  ii.  172. 


tta,  Shanti,  ch.  clxxxvi. 


314  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Putting  the  two  lines  of  thought  together,  we 
see  again  what  we  have  already  seen  before,  that 
the  homogeneous  and  ethereal  human  race  gradual- 
ly fell  into  denser  matter  and  became  differentiated 
into  types  and  classes,  which,  by  the  turn  of  a 
sub-cycle,  after  having  reached  extreme  rigidity, 
have  become  again  really  homogeneous  by  adulter- 
ation and  indiscriminate  marriage,  and  can  now  be 
differentiated  effectively  and  really  only  by  sacra- 
ments, education  and  discipline  of  different  kinds, 
Avhich  take  due  account  of  the  temperament  of 
each  student.  In  other  words,  the  j  I  v  a  s  who  are 
incapable  of  the  introspective  consciousness  are 
the  Shudras  in  the  national  organisation;  and 
different  functions  are  accordingly  assigned  to 
them.  To  say  that  head  and  foot  are  differently 
made  and  have  different  functions  is  not  to  insult 
the  one  and  adulate  the  other.  On  the  contrary, 
to  try  violently  to  make  them  perform  the  same 
functions  is  to  violate  common  sense.  They  can 
and  do  attain  the  same  level  only  during  sleep, 
and  the  disappearance  of  the  existing  conditions 
(p  r  a  1  a  y  a) .  And  they  do  not  appear  and  manifest 
prominently  during  the  epochs  of  the  more  spher- 
ical form  of  body.  In  other  ages,  they  do  appear 
different ;  but,  of  course,  nourishment  and  affection- 
ate treatment  and  protective  care  are  equally  due  to 
both  head  and  foot,  twice-born  and  non-twice-born, 
child  and  sage.  In  some  respects,  indeed,  more 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  315 

consideration  is  shown  by  Manu  to  the  Shudra 
than  the  others.  The  verses  have  been  quoted 
before  in  which  he  lays  down  that  the  punishment 
shall  be  heavier  for  the  twice-born  classes.  In 
some  Smrtis,  where  the  duties  of  the  twice-born 
householder  are  described,  it  is  laid  down  that  the 
two  heads  of  the  household,  the  father  and  the 
mother  of  the  family,  shall  take  their  meals  after 
the  children,  the  guests,  and  the  servants  have  had 
their  food.  The  Shudra  is  the  embryonic  plasm 
of  the  race  out  of  which  develop  the  others,  as 
out  of  consciousness  arise  cognition,  action  and 
desire,  respectively  corresponding  to  the  Brahmana, 
the  Kshattriya,  the  Vaishya.  And  therefore  when- 
ever a  Shudra  displayed  promise  of  progress  he 
was  permitted  and  helped  to  develop  the  promise 
and  make  the  progress,  in  the  olden  day,  as  ought 
to  be  done  again  to-day. 

The  Shudras  in  whom  the  soul  awakens 
sufficiently  to  make  them  wish  to  live  the 
life  of  the  good  and  the  virtuous,  they  should 
be  encouraged  to  live  that  life  and  should 
receive  praise  from  all.  They  should  be  helped 
in  all  studies,  but  should  not  yet  be  entrust- 
ed with  the  secret  words  of  power  (mant  ras), 
which  can  be  safely  entrusted  only  to  special- 
ly selected  bodies.  As  such  a  Shudra  strives, 
with  simple-hearted  earnestness,  to  imitate 
the  example  of  the  good,  so  he  makes  progress 
in  status,  in  this  world  and  the  next  also. 


316  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

Because  the  seed  of  all  possibilities  is  in  all, 
because  all  have  descended  from  and  must 
merge  again  in  the  same  Creator,  therefore 
any  j  I  v  a  might  unfold  any  potency  and  make 
the  others  latent,  by  self-restraint  or  the 
inverse  ;  and  so  may  change  from  lower  into 
higher  class  or  caste,  or  the  reverse.  The 
j  I  v  a  who  faithfully  serves  and  studies  with 
and  eats  the  food  of  a  higher  class,  attains 
gradually  to  the  status  of  that  class,  in  this 
very  life,  or  in  the  next. 

In  a  condition  of  general  mixture  and 
adulteration,  where  it  is  impossible  to  as- 
certain purity  of  breeding  and  lineage,  the 
only  feasible  course  is  to  decide  the  type  and 
class  of  any  given  individual  by  his  character 
and  temperament.  Not  birth,  not  even  formal 
sacraments,  not  superficial  learning,  make 
the  twice-born  and  the  Brahmaiias  ;  those 
who  know  the  inmost  truth,  the  Rshis,  have 
declared  that  character  and  conduct  alone 
determine  the  caste  of  a  Man.  J 


f| 


Mann,  x.  127,  128,  42  ;  ix.  335. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  317 

From  such  statements  we  may  infer  what  the 
spirit  of  the  ancient  culture  was  towards  the 
Shudras  of  the  community.  The  epithets  of  "  young- 
est/' "  latest-born,"  "  littlest  brother/'  are  applied 
to  him  constantly,  and  the  tone  is  of  affectionate 
patronage  and  gentle  but  firm  rule.  He  is  to 
labor,  but  his  food  and  clothing  must  be  sure, 
and  such  instruction  as  he  can  assimilate  must 
be  given  to  him.  He  is  the  child-j  I  va,  the  younger 
member  of  the  family.  He  is  mentioned  in  the 
same  breath  with  the  women  and  the  children, 
all  objects  of  equally  tender  care.1 

The  head  of  the  household  is  the  b  hart  a, 
which  etymologically  means  the  "nourisher  and 
protector,  "  and,  by  usage,  means  equally  the 
"  husband  "  and  the  "  master".  The  name  for  the 
wife  is  bharya,  "the  to-be-fostered".  The  name 


II 

V.  Bliagavata,  VII.  xi.  35- 

it 


Mahabharata,  Vana,  ch.   clxxxii. 


^ 

Mahdbh.  Vana.  Yaksha-Yudhishthira-Samvada,  ccc. 


318  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

for  the  servant  is  another  form  of  the  same 
root,  b  h  r  t  y  a,  "  the  to-be-supported  ".  It  is 
for  these  that  Vyasa  composed  the  Itihasa  and 
the  Parana. 

For   the    instruction,    in     entertaining     ways, 

of  the   women,    the    children,    the    Shudras,  the 

weaker     brethren     of    the      twice-born,    whose 

tender    minds   were    not    fit    to    grasp     and     to 

hold    the    stronger     teachings    of     the     Vedas, 

and   for   the  easy     attainment   of   the   goal    by 

them,    the    Lord    Vyasa,    ever  working  for  the 

good   of   all,     overflowing   with    compassion   for 

the     weak,      compiled     these    ancient   histories, 

and     by    means    of    these  declared  that  portion 

of   the  knowledge  hidden  in  the   Vedas     which 

is    most     needful    for  human  happiness.1 

Such   is   the    ancient    ideal,    whatever    the     sub- 

sequent    perversions    in     practice    may     be.       The 

modern   West  has   Avon   much   merit  with   the  Gods 

by    abolishing    the     horrors      of      forced     slavery. 

But   its    work    is    but    half    done,     is     but  ill   done, 

if    it    has    created    and     substituted    instead     the 

fevers      of     the  acute  problems      of     master      and 

servant,    capital   and   labor.      It    has     to     complete 


iflf  i  **$,*!' 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  319 

its  good  work  by  restoring  slavery  on  a  higher 
level,  the  willing  and  loving  slavery  of  each  to 
all,  according  to  capacity,  to  make  of  the  Human 
Race  one  vast  Human  Family,  composed  of  elder 
and  younger  brothers — as  is  the  ancient  ideal. 

Mij'i'il  Caste*  and  the  Problems  of  Minor 
Arts  and    Crafts 

It  has  been  said  before  that  all  human  beings 
whatsoever,  everywhere  on  the  broad  surface  of 
the  earth,  fall  without  a  remainder  into  the 
one  or  the  other  of  the  four  main  types,  and 
that  Mann's  emphatic  declaration  is  that  there 
is  no  fifth,  all  the  other  races  of  the  earth 
which  do  not  recognise  caste-divisions  formally 
being  also  stated  to  be  transformations  of  these 
four  types.1  And  these  main  types  deal  re- 
spectively with  the  main  problems  of  social  and 
national  life,  in  their  most  important  aspects. 
But  a  number  of  sub- castes  are  mentioned  by 
Manu,  as  arising  from  intermixture  of  the  main 
types.  While  the  mixture  is  deprecated,  it  is 
recognised  as  a  fact,  and  the  conditions  of  pass- 
ing from  these  mixed  sub-castes  to  the  pure 
main  ones  are  laid  down  by  Him.  All  the 
minor  arts  and  industries,  as  means  of  live- 
lihood, are  entrusted  to  the  keeping  of  these 
mixed  castes.  And  it  is  a  study  in  psycho-physics 

1  Manu,   x.   43-45. 


320  MAXU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP   THEOSOPHY 

by  itself  to  try  and  discover  why  a  particular  trade 
is  assigned  to  a  particular  sub-caste,  arising  out 
of  a  particular  alliance  entailing,  in  the  progeny, 
special  psychological  and  physiological  traits  and 
corresponding  fitness  for  that  particular  occupation. 

Certain  arts  which  are  now  highly  esteemed 
are  not  held  in  such  honor  by  Manu.  This  is 
due  largely  to  the  fact  that  to  the  ancient  view, 
the  great  art  of  all  arts,  the  art  of  Yoga,1 
throws  all  others  into  the  shade,  and  deserves 
to  attract  all  the  aspirations  and  all  the  energy 
available  and  to  spare  from  life's  daily  duties. 
Also,  the  labors  and  occupations  that  produced 
the  necessaries  of  life  for  the  nation  were  always 
placed  before  the  others  that  produced  the 
luxuries.  The  dignity  of  productive  labor  was  a 
greater  reality  then  than  it  seems  to  be  to-day. 
The  Brahmana  who,  in  time  of  misfortune,  could 
not  maintain  himself  by  teaching,  was  to  take  up 
cultivation  of  the  soil  rather  than  music  or  painting 
or  carving,  for  a  livelihood,  even  though  he  might 
know  these  arts  well  and  be  even  able  to  give 
instruction  in  them.  We  have  seen  before  that 
the  Brahmana  was  to  know  all  and  be  able  to 
teach  all  things,  but  was  not  to  practise  any 
other  profession  than  that  of  "  teaching,  mendi- 
cancy and  ritual  sacrifice ".  At  the  same  time, 
the  fine  arts  were  not  slighted,  but  highly  honor- 

i  See  The  Secret  Doctrine,  ii.  319,  lines  1-3  (Old  Edn.). 


FAMILY    LIFK    AND    ECONOMICS  321 

ed,  when  used,  not  for  personal  gain,  but  for 
the  uplifting  of  others,  in  the  spirit  of  religious 
ritual.  No  wealth  or  beauty  of  architecture  and 
sculpture  and  painting  and  other  decoration  was 
too  great  for  the  temple.  No  labor  or  study 
was  too  diligent  to  perfect  the  Veda-chant,  the 
music,  the  colors,  the  fragrance  of  incense  and 
flowers,  which  were  to  call  the  Gods  to  take 
visible  shape  and  to  produce  wide-reaching  bene- 
fit for  the  people,  health,  timely  rain  and  ample 
crops,  cheerfulness  and  high  and  holy  thoughts 
and  aspirations.  No  mechanical  skill  was  too 
minute  to  perfect  the  King's  means  of  offence 
and  defence,  of  rapid  conveyance  by  land  and 
sea  and  air,  for  the  benefit  of  his  people.  And 
it  was  the  honored  duty  of  the  Brahmana  in- 
structor to  supervise  and  advise  upon  all  such 
constructions.  But  when  the  skill,  the  talent, 
the  genius  were  used  for  personal  gain  and  for 
outstripping  one's  neighbor,  then  were  they 
regarded  as  degraded,  then  the  superphysical 
WHS  dragged  down  into  the  physical,  then  the 
higher  married  and  surrendered  to  the  lower  and 
underwent  degeneration.  This  was  not  wholly 
avoidable,  however ;  and  so,  providing  all  possible 
clogs  upon  the  downward  course,  Manu  has 
perforce  recognised  these  mixed  castes  as  the 
bye-products  of  the  Path  of  Pursuit,  and  handed 
over  to  them  the-  arts  as  means  of  livelihood, 
21 


322  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

in  their  lower  form,  and  not  the  higher,  in 
which  indeed  they  provide  what  are  the  neces- 
saries of  the  higher  superphysical  life.  The 
place  of  the  fine  arts  in  the  scheme  of  instruc- 
tion, for  the  purpose  of  soul-education  and  the 
enhancement  of  the  beauty  and  the  joy  of  the 
domestic  life  —  has  been  briefly  indicated  before. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  ancient  division  of 
vocations.  All  these  vocations,  in  Manu's  Theory 
of  Life,  belong  to  the  household  order  (grhastha- 
ashrama),  which,  as  the  support  of  all,  is 
declaimed  to  be  the  highest. 

As  all  breathing  animals  live  dependent  on 
the  air,  even  so  do  men  of  all  stages  of 
life  live  dependent  on  the  householder.  He 
is  truly  the  eldest  of  all  because  he  supports 
all  with  food,  mental  as  well  as  physical. 
As  the  streams  and  the  rivers  all  have  final- 
ity in  the  ocean,  so  do  all  men  of  all  stages 
have  finality  in  the  householder.  The  student, 
the  householder,  the  forest-dweller  and  the 
ascetic,  all  take  their  birth  from  the  house- 
holder. And  of  all  these,  the  householder 
ranks  highest  by  all  the  ordinance  of  Veda 
and  Smrti,  for  he  supporteth  them  all.' 


:  I 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  323 

There  is  no  justification  in  Manu  for  large 
numbers  of  able-bodied  and  idle  beggars,  para- 
<ites  upon  the  workers,  themselves  doing  nothing 
useful  and  expecting  everything  to  be  done  for 
them.  The  strenuous  life  was  enjoined  upon  all. 
The  Brahmana  was  to  be  content  in  matters 
physical,  but  was  to  stud}7  assiduously  and  ever 
expand  his  knowledge  for  the  use  of  all.  The 
Kshattriya,  the  Vaishya,  the  Shudra,  was  each 
to  do  his  respective  duty  with  unflagging  enter- 
prise and  labor.1  Every  one  was  to  pass  through 
the  household  and  take  his  share  in  the  national 
labor,  unless  there  were  exceptional  reasons.  And 
every  one  was  to  enter  the  household,  not  for  sense- 
pleasure  but  for  progeny.  There  was  an  appro- 
priate time  for  the  work  of  this  world  and  there 
was  also  an  appropriate  time  for  retirement  from 
it.  Excess  and  exaggeration  were  avoided  on  all 
sides. 


Mann,  iii.  76,  77  and  vi.  88,  89,  90. 
Manu,  vii.  90,  100,  102  ;  viii.  419. 


824  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

The   Vdnaprastha  or  Retired  '  Forest-Dweller '  and 
Unremunerated  Public   Worker 

After    the     life    of    the    household,   the   'forest- 
life/    retirement    to    the    comparative    quietude   of 
the    suburban    woods,    which    there   would   be   al- 
ways   in    the    vicinity    of    towns    laid   out    under 
the   old   plan,   traces   of   which   may   yet   be  found 
along  the  beautiful  west-coast  of  southern  India. 
Having   spent   the    second  quarter   of  life  in 
the     household,     when    he    observes     wrinkles 
and     white     hairs     upon     his    person,    and   be- 
holds   the    face    of    the     child    of    his   child, 
then    let    him     retire    to   the   forest.     Having 
discharged    his    debts     to    the    Teachers,    the 
Ancestors    and    the     Gods,   let   him   place   the 
burden   of   the   household   upon   the    shoulders 
of   his    son   and   live   in  retirement,  with  mind 
impartially  benevolent  to    all    and   freed   from 
all    touch   of   competition.     Let    him    meditate, 
in   solitude,    on   the   mystery    of   the    Self   and 
the  ways  of  progress  towards  the  Spirit.     Only 
by    solitary  meditation   and   retirement   within 
oneself  may   the    Great    Self   be   really   under- 
stood, and  not  in  that  mixed   conversation  with 
others     which    keeps    the     small    self    active, 
preventing  thereby  the  dawn  of  the  Great  Self. 
When     not    thus     meditating,     let    him     ever 
engage    himself   in    study,    self-controlled,    one- 
pointed.        Let     him     befriend     all     creatures, 
think     tenderly   of   all    beings.     Let    him   give 


FAMILY    LIFE   AND    ECONOMICS  325 

ever  and  take  never.  Let  him  diligently 
perform  the  many  .sacrifices  prescribed,  each 
at  its  proper  season.i 

Briefly,  the  key-note  of  this  stage  is  sacrifice. 
When  the  ritual  sacrifices  had  palpable  signi- 
ficance and  value  —  as  they  will  have  again,  in 
the  life  of  the  newer  race  —  the  most  important 
work  that  the  retired  householder  could  do  na- 
turally took  this  shape.  In  modern  days  the 
appropriate  shape  would  be  the  life  of  public 
work  without  worldly  remuneration.  In  different 
times,  places  and  circumstances,  the  forms  may 
be  different,  but  the  underlying  principle  must  al- 
ways be  unselfish  service.  The  alternative  that 
is  more  suitable  to  modern  conditions  is  even 
expressly  mentioned  by  Manu  : 


f?  <?t 


ii 

Manu,  v.  169  ;  vi.  2  ;  iv.  257,  258  ;  vi.  8,  9,  10. 


326  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT   OF    THEOSOPHY 

Having  given  up  all  the  active  work  of 
maintaining  the  household,  gradually  working 
out  his  past  karma,  ever  purifying  his  mind 
and  body  increasingly,  and  ever  studying  the 
Vedas,  let  him  dwell  in  the  homestead  itself, 
supported  by  his  son.1 

We  have  seen  that  the  forest-dweller  was  to 
form  part  of  the  Legislative  Council.  It  was  not 
Manu's  will  that  any  one  in  any  stage  of  life 
should  be  careless  of  the  common  weal.  Even 
in  the  renunciant  stages  of  life,  he  wras  specially 
enjoined  to  place  first  the  well-being  of  the 
world  : 

Even  though  the  Brahmana  have  reached 
the  stage  of  same-sightedness,  when  he  seeth 
all  with  equal  eye,  and-  have  attained  to  the 
peace  beyond  the  turmoils  of  this  fleeting 
world,  yet  so  long  as  he  weareth  any  sheath 
of  any  plane,  so  long  must  he  help  the 
suffering  dwellers  of  that  plane.  If  he  neglect 
and  fail  to  help  the  suffering,  his  virtue  of 
spirit,  his  knowledge,  his  superphysical  power. 
his  Brahman-force  and  illumination,  gained 
and  stored  with  so  much  self  -negation,  shall 
pass  away  from  him  even  as  water  leaketh 
out  from  a  cracked  vessel.2 


vi.  95. 


V.  Blioyavata  IV.  xiv.  41. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  327 

The  hands  that  hold  occult  powers  and  are 
strong  with  the  strength  of  the  Spirit,  must  be 
ever  engaged  in  battling  with  the  forces  of  evil 
that  are  always  seeking  a  breach  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Hierarchy  whose  persons  form  the  guard- 
ian wall  between  them  and  the  weak  world 
they  seek  to  overwhelm.  The  life  of  White 
Power  is  not  all  high  joy  alone,  but  is  also 
strenuous  labor  always,  and  intense  sadness  and 
sorrow  at  times. 

In  this  stage  of  Vanaprastha,  by  due  per- 
formance of  self-sacrifice,  the  embodied  self  takes 
his  third  birth,  the  birth  of  Initiation  into  the 
High  Mysteries  of  Yoga. 

The  first  is  the  (ethero-physical)  birth  from 
the  mother-father.  The  second  is  the  (astro- 
mental)  birth  (from  the  Teacher)  at  the  bind- 
ing on  of  the  thread  which  marks  the  stu- 
dent. The  third  is  the  (mental-buddhic)  birth 
(from  the  Hierophant,  the  Yoga-Master)  at 
the  sacrificial  Initiation.  Thus  the  Scripture 
sayeth.  The  twice-born,  retired  to  the  forest, 
should  strive  after  this  and  the  other  Ini- 
tiations mentioned  in  the  Upanishats  '  for 
the  perfection  of  his  Science  of  the  Self.  2 

i  Thirty-two  separate  v  i  d  y  a  s,  e.  g.,  are  mention- 
ed in  the  ChJwndogya  and  the  Brhaddranyakn. 


>:  II 
Manu,  ii.  169  and  vi.  29. 


328  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

Sannydsa,  the  Last  Stage  atid  the  Problems  ef  the 
Spiritual  Life 

The  successful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the 
Vanaprastha  stage  qualifies  the  individual  for  the 
final  stage  of  S  a  n  n  y  a  s  a,  renunciation  of  all 
worldly  connexions,  wherein  are  perfected  and 
carried  to  their  final  finishing  the  virtues  of  the 
forest-dweller,  and  the  problems  of  the  spiritual 
life  are  solved. 

Having  thus  spent  the  third  quarter  of 
life  in  forest-retirement,  let  him  wander  forth, 
homeless,  for  the  last  quarter.  Let  him  not 
wish  for  death,  not  wish  for  life.  Let  him 
abide  his  time  patiently  as  the  worker  waiteth 
for  the  day  of  wages.  Let  him  burn  up 
the  evils  of  his  body  with  regulations  of 
the  breath  and  of  the  vital  currents  ;  the 
addictions  of  his  mind  by  the  practice  of 
abstraction  ;  all  sinful  thoughts  and  passions 
by  concentration  ;  and  finally  the  g  u  n  a  s  of 
the  Not- Self,  that  cause  the  turmoil  of  the 
world,  by  meditation,  on  the  Self.  Let  him 
behold  the  subtlety  of  the  Supreme  Self 
by  means  of  yog  a-contemplation  and  under- 
stand its  manifestations  in  organisms  good  and 
evil,  high  and  low — as  those  may  not  under- 
stand who  have  not  achieved  the  Higher 
Self.  He  alone  escapes  the  bonds  of  karma 
who  sees  well  the  laws  of  its  working  and 
thus  knows  how  to  clear  off  and  close  his 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  329 

count  of  sin  and  merit ;  he  who  sees  not 
thus  truly  falls  again  and  again  into  the 
toils  of  birth  and  rebirth.1  Let  him  study 
Brahman  in  all  Its  forms,  every  where,  in  the 
things  of  nature,  in  the  intelligences  and 
beings  that  rule  those  things,  in  himself,  as 
taught  in  the  crowning  teachings  of  the 
Scriptures.  For  verily,  all  this  that  exists 
and  can  be  spoken  about  is  built  of  Thought, 
of  Consciousness ;  and  none  who  knows  not 
that  Subjective  Science,  the  Science  of  Thought, 
of  Consciousness,  of  the  Self,  can  perform 
anything  successfully.  In  this  wise,  the  re- 
nunciaiit,  casting  off  the  chains  of  attach- 
ment that  tie  his  soul  to  the  things  of 
sense,  freed  from  all  the  toils  of  duality,  . 
from  all  the  strife  of  rival  pairs  of  extremes 
and  contradictory  opposites,  gradually  becomes 
established  in  the  peace  of  Brahman.  Know- 
ing the  Laws  of  Karma,  by  the  power  of  yoga- 
coiitemplatioii  and  with  the  help  and  con- 
sent of  the  Lords  of  Karma  and  the  White 
Lodge  of  Rshis,  let  him  come  out  of  the 
oi-dinary  routine  of  Yama's  sway  and  transfer 
his  sins  against  (and  debts  which  he  owes 

i  This  is  really  nothing  more  recondite  and  mys- 
terious than  an  ordinary  business  man  deciding  to 
give  up  his  private  business,  and  enter  the  public 
service  of  the  Government  of  the  country,  handing 
over  that  business  with  all  its  debts  and  assets  (to 
be  set  off  against  each  other)  to  his  heirs  and  assigns, 
and  then  entering  that  public  sei-vice. 


330  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

to)  third  parties,  to  his  enemies  who  have 
harmed  and  sinned  against  him  in  the 
past  and  owe  him  debts ;  and  his  meritori- 
ous deeds  towards  (and  assets  owed  to  him 
by)  others,  to  his  friends  who  have  done 
him  good  and  have  assets  to  realise  from 
him  ;  and  thus  winding  up  his  account,  let  him 
approach  the  Eternal  Brahman.  Let  him  now 
gradually  retire  from  and  cast  off  the  fickle  and 
fleeting  physical  body — which  had  borrowed  the 
passing  bloom  and  beauty  and  strength  of  youth 
and  prime  from  the  glories  of  the  indwelling 
soul,  but  is  now  seen  to  be  what  it  truly  is.  a 
crumbling  hovel,  raftered  with  bones,  tied  up 
with  tendons,  mortared  with  flesh,  plastered 
with  blood,  hung  with  decaying  skin,  ill-smell- 
ing, full  of  faecal  filth,  shaking  with  every  pac- 
ing wind,  haunted  by  ghosts  of  evil  passions, 
claimed  at  law  insistently  by  old  age,  sorrows 
and  disease.  Or  let  him  set  forth  for  the  north, 
the  quarter  of  the  earth  that  has  never  yet 
been  really  conquered,  and  ever  go  on  straight 
before  him,  turning  not  to  right  or  left,  living 
but  on  air  and  water,  till  the  body  falls. ' 

i  Or  he  arrives,  karma  permitting,  at  the  holy 
ashramas  of  the  Rshis,  whose  principal  seat  is  in  the 
north  of  India,  though  branches  of  the  White  Lodge 
are  scattered  all  over  the  earth.  In  the  Puranas  and  in 
Theosophical  literature  this  place  is  known  as  Shambhala  ; 
another,  more  or  less  close  to  it,  being  Kalapa.  The 
determined  will  to  reach  the  Hierarchy,  in  the  conditions 
mentioned,  is  sure  to  bear  fruit  either  in  this  very  life, 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  331 

The  renunciant  saint  and  wanderer,  who  thus 
followeth  the  Path,  entereth  eternal  Brahman 
without  fail. 


or  in  a  later.  Even  at  the  present  day,  the  earnest 
sannyasis  do  go  off  from  Badarinath  into  the  heart  of 
the  Himalayas,  and,  it  would  seem,  some  succeed  in 
the  quest,  while  others,  not  yet  ready,  leave  the  present 
body  to  take  a  more  capable  one  later. 


^rar 


332  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

Thus  ended  a  well-ordered  human  life  on  the 
physical  plane,  under  the  scheme  of  the  Great 
Progenitor.  It  should  be  remembered,  however, 
that  while  from  the  standpoint  of  the  physical 
plane,  the  last  two  stages  of  life  are  as  the  opposite 
of  the  first  two,  from  the  standpoint  of  superphysi- 
al  planes,  Renunciation  (s  a  n  n  y  a  s  a)  is  to  forest- 
life  (vanaprastha)  as  the  household  (garhasthy  a) 
is  to  studentship  (b  r  a  h  m  a  c  h  a  r  y  a)  ;  in  other 
words,  that  the  renunciation  of  work  on  the  physical 
plane  is  the  assumption  of  work  on  higher  planes, 
the  acquisition  and  wielding,  by  means  of  the  one- 
pointed  practice  of  yoga,  of  superphysical  powers 
of  a  higher  order,  for  the  service  of  the  world. 
This  is  indicated  by  the  stories  of  the  functions  of 
the  Rshis  in  the  Puranas  and  the  brief  hints  given 
in  the  available  Upanishats  of  the  many  stages  and 
grades  and  initiations  and  yoga-disciplines  that 
sannyasis  are  expected  to  pass  through.  l 


5  II 


Manu,  vi. 

1  See  the  Tnriyatitdvadhftta.  Paramahamsa  and 
Sannydsa  Upanishats,  for  desciiptions  of  the  stages, 
Kutichaka,  bahudaka,  hamsa.  para  m  a  h  a  m  sa, 
digambara,  go-mukha,  turiyatita,  avadhuta, 
etc. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  333 

It  is  also  indicated  by  the  three  sub-divisions  of 
the  one  Path  of  Renunciation,  on  one  of  which 
mystic  devotion  (bhakti)  predominates;  on  an- 
other, superphysical  activity  (k  a  r  m  a)  ;  and  on 
the  third,  occult  wisdom  (jiiana) — predominates 
only,  and  never  excludes  the  two  others — according 
as  the  temperament  of  the  individual  j  I  v  a's  super- 
physical  sheathing  respectively  shows  forth  more 
the  Vaishya  type  and  the  higher  clinging  and 
steadfastness  and  inertia  (t  a  m  a  s)  ;  or  the 
Kshattriya  type  and  the  higher  restlessness 
and  mobility  (r  a  j  a  s) ;  or  the  Brahmana  type  and 
the  higher  inclination  and  suitability  for  cognitive 
purposes  and  harmony  (s  a  1 1  v  a) ;  while  all  three 
are  summed  up  in  U  p  a  s  a  n  a,  service,  '  being  near,' 
'  being  in  attendance,'  corresponding,  on  the  higher 
level,  to  the  Shudra  in  whom  all  the  other  three  are 
potentially  present.  It  is  true  that  the  practice  of 
walking  on  one  of  these  three  minor  paths 
(mar  gas)  is  recommended  to  be  begun  even 
during  the  household  life,  but  this  is  done  only 
on  the  general  principle  of  preparation  and  of  the 
concomitance  and  concurrency  of  everything  and 
all  things;  so  that  an  individual,  in  the  view  of 
physical  science,  begins  to  die  from  the  moment 
he  is  born,  by  the  law  of  necrobiosis,  and,  per  contra, 
in  the  view  of  occult  science,  begins  to  live  from 
the  moment  he  dies.  We  have  seen  that  the  three 
debts  begin  to  be  paid  during  the  household 


334  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

life,    although    they    are    partially    incurred    therein 
too. 

THE  SPIRIT  OP  THE  HIGHER  SOCIALISM  IN  MANU'S  LAWS 
With  the  last  stage  of  the  human  life  on  earth, 
onds  our  survey  of  Manu's  scheme  as  a  whole. 
There  remains,  to  sum  up  our  study,  a  statement 
in  modern  terms  of  His  view  of  the  spirit  in  which 
life  should  be  lived.  From  all  that  has  gone  be- 
fore, it  is  obvious  that,  according  to  Him,  the 
spirit  which  should  animate  the  social  organisation 
is  the  spirit  of  the  joint-family,  of  the  broadest 
humanism,  in  modern  days  termed  socialism,  but 
socialism  guided  and  administered  by  the  wise, 
not  by  the  mob.  The  four  classes  of  men  were 
called  by  Him  "  the  earlier-born  and  later-born 
brothers ".  The  cultivation  of  love  and  good-will 
to  all,  the  subordination  of  the  personal  to  the 
social  self,  the  avoidance  of  arrogance  and  invidi- 
ousness,  the  balancing  of  rights  by  duties,  are 
constantly  insisted  on.  All  grades  have  their 
functions,  i.  e.,  division  of  labor  is  enjoined ;  but 
all  live  in  an  atmosphere  of  mutual  love  and  trust 
and  service.  In  the  most  official  relations  the 
human  side  is  to  be  kept  in  mind.  Each  is  to 
think  more  of  his  duties  than  of  his  rights.  The 
conventions  are  the  outcome  and  expression  of  the 
spirit  of  brotherliness,  rather  than  the  set  arrange- 
ments of  the  modern  theorist  and  advocate  of  a 
literal  commonwealth,  which  are  probably  unwork- 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  '     335 

able  because  artificial  and  unrooted  in  human  nature. 
Many  of  the  most  important  affairs  of  life, 
which  modern  governments  leave  to  chance  and 
individual  enterprise  and  inclinations,  while  some 
of  the  most  influential  of  modern  thinkers  advo- 
cate state-regulation  of  them — matters  like  edu- 
cation for  vocations,  dietary,  marriages,  morals, 
manners,  charity,  land -cultivation — were  managed, 
under  the  old  scheme,  by  means  of  a  quiet  social 
pressure,  exercised  by  the  elders  and  the  wise  of 
the  various  castes,  communities,  guilds,  etc.,  and 
exercised  in  the  spirit  of  patriarchs  of  families,  by 
means  of  approbation  and  praise  on  the  one  hand  and, 
on  the  other,  of  withdrawal  of  sympathy  and  passing 
of  censure,  and  finally  of  temporary  excommunica- 
tion ;  just  the  means,  in  short,  which  are  employed  by 
good  and  wise  fathers  and  mothers  in  bringing  up 
their  children.  In  this  fashion,  the  evils  of  over- 
official  state-management  on  the  one  hand,  and 
overmuch  liberty  and  license  on  the  other,  were 
both  avoided.  Manu's  scheme  is  the  nearest  and 
only  approach  to  a  workable  socialism  that  has 
tried  in  our  race,  and  that  succeeded  for  thou- 
sands of  years.  So  much  so  is  this  the  case  that, 
indeed,  all  civilisations  which  the  so-called  historical 
period,  of  which  modern  historians  have  discovered 
any  traces,  have  perforce  conformed  to  it  in  general 
outline,  however  ranch  differing  in  minor  details; 
and  where  and  when  they  have  not  so  conformed, 


336  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT   OF   THEOSOFHY 

have  not  only  failed  to  make  improvement,  but  have 
suffered  decay.  What  is  advocated  here  is  the 
application  of  His  principles  of  social  organisation, 
for  they  are  the  only  sure  foundation  of  different- 
sexed  human  society ;  the  superstructure;  might 
safely  vary  in  detail. 

If,  despite  this,  the  objection  is  lightly  taken 
that  Manu's  ways  may  have  been  suited  to  a  simpler 
state  of  human  society  but  are  not  to  the  complexity 
of  modern  life,  that  His  solutions  are  wholly  inap- 
plicable and  unpractical  to-day,  that  it  is  all  very 
well  to  talk  of  the  joint  human  family,  and  types 
of  men,  and  elder  and  younger  brothers,  and 
Universal  Brotherhood,  and  patriarchal  government 
by  the  wise — but  that  modern  conditions  make  it 
all  impossible  ;  what  then  can  be  the  reply  ?  Only 
this :  "  Very  well.  Let  us  continue  to  treat  poison 
with  more  poison,  to  wipe  off  mud  with  mud,  hate 
with  hate,  egoism  with  egoism,  and  abide  the 
result.  Endless  time  is  before  us,  and  we  can 
afford  to  make  experiments,  even  with  broken 
hearts  and  ruined  lives  as  outcome.  In  the  end 
we  shall  see  that  when  an  error  has  crept  into  a 
mathematical  computation  at  the  outset,  no  persis- 
tence and  accuracy  in  later  calculation  will  bring 
out  a  correct  result.  Only  the  setting  right  of  the 
original  error  will  avail/'  The  error  here  is  the 
principle  of  egoism,  individualism,  competition,  run 
amuck. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  337 

Reformers  begin  in  youth  with  the  idea  that  they 
have  found  an  original  solution,  a  panacea  for  all 
evil,  which  will  change  the  face  of  the  world ;  they 
end  in  old  age  with  satisfaction  if  they  have  cleared 
away  a  little  rubbish.  New  civilisations  arise  and 
overthrow  the  old,  but  that  which  they  overthrow 
are  only  the  decayed,  senile,  diseased  remnants 
of  the  old;  and  they  climb  with  effort  to  the  glories 
of  the  prime  of  the  predecessors.  This  is  but  the 
copy,  on  a  large  scale,  of  what  we  see  on  the  small 
*cale  in  the  family  ;  the  younger  generation  replaces 
and  yet  only  goes  over  again  the  life  of  the  older. 
The  young  West,  the  fifth  sub-race  of  to-day,  ima- 
gines that  it  has  superseded  ancient  ignorance  and 
superstition.  What  it  has  superseded,  perhaps,  is 
only  its  own  recent  medieval  past,  not  the  really 
old.  It  imagines  it  has  discovered  the  evolution 
of  matter ;  in  reality  it  has  only  forgotten  the  in- 
volution of  Spirit  in  matter  and  its  re-emancipation 
therefrom.  It  imagines  it  has  discovered  national- 
ism ;  in  reality  it  has  only  forgotten  humanism,  and 
the  universal  brotherhood  of  all  beings.  Forgetting 
the  whole  truth,  it  is  making  much  ado  over  the 
half-truths  it  has  found.  But  it  will  find  the  other 
halves  before  long.  Indeed,  modern  thought  now 
is  only  blindly  groping  after  the  scheme  laid  down 
by  Manu,  and  will  presently  re-establish  its  broad 
outlines.  The  re-establishment  will  come  more 
easily  if  the  elements  of  the  Science  of  the 
22 


008  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT   OP   THEOSOPHY 

Self  (A  d  hy  a  tm  a-V  idy  a),  of  Theosophy,  are 
recognised  by  governments,  are  made  part  of  the 
curricula  of  schools  and  colleges,  are  instilled 
into  the  minds  of  the  students  and  the  public 
by  earnest-minded  teachers,  preachers,  editors  of 
papers  and  magazines,  till  they  become  part  of 
the  mental  life  of  the  nations.  And  endeavors 
to  do  this  are  being  made  by  the  Theosophical 
Society  in  every  land,  and  it  is  leading  the  nations 
to  drink  at  the  pure  sources  of  Aryan  Wisdom. 
"  Tell  them  to  study  Maim, "  said  a  Master  to 
H.  P.  Blavatsky.  The  result  of  the  general  spread 
of  right  knowledge  will  be  the  general  spread  of 
right  desire  and  then  of  right  action.  Co-opera- 
tion will  grow  from  within,  healthily  and  surely, 
instead  of  being  forced  from  without,  by  strikes, 
riots  and  rebellions.  Knowledge  of  psycho-physics 
will  expand;  astrology,  as  the  science  of  tempera- 
ment and  the  tattvic  constituents  of  man  and 
planet  alike,  will  revive  and  will  make  really 
practical  the  sciences  of  ethnology,  eugenics,  an- 
thropology in  its  broad  and  true  sense,  the  'ocean 
science  of  Spirit'  (Pu  r  u  s  h  a-S  a  m  u  d  r  i  ka)  the 
dislocated,  torn  and  tattered  pages  of  which 
have  fallen  into  the  hands  mostly  of  charlatans 
to-day,  and  appear  as  Palmistry  and  Cheiromancy 
and  Phrenology  and  Physiognomy,  etc.  Then  it 
will  be  possible  to  fix  the  right  avocations  of 
men  in  their  childhood  and  to  educate  them 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  339 

accordingly.  Private  life  will  find  its  riches  in  pure 
and  tine  emotions  rather  than  in  material  objects, 
the  riches  of  the  inner  world  which  do  not 
depend  on  competitive  success.  Public  life  will 
be  rich  in  both,  and  devoted  to  service.  Peace- 
ful retirement  will  come  from  inner  desire,  not 
outer  decay.  The  Immortal  Self  will  triumph  over 
death,  for  the  study  and  practice  of  the  Sacred 
Sciences  and  Scriptures  will  open  up  and  extend 
man's  vision  into  past  and  future  lives.1  The 
cessation  of  mutual  slaughter  and  of  misuse  and 
waste  of  nature's  gifts  will  induce  the  Gods  and 
the  Rshis,  who  are  the  custodians  of  those  forces, 
to  enable  men  to  re-discover  the  secrets  of  the  forty- 
nine  '  fires, '  the  forty -nine  '  airs, '  the  two  sets  of 
forty-nine  each  of  the  occult  forces  known  as  the 
'  Sons  of  Krshashva '  which  were  the  hereditary 
birth-right  of  the  descendants  of  Rama,  as  mentioned 
in  the  Ramayana,  the  powers  of  creating  high  and 
low'  temperatures  and  of  multiplying  the  substance 
of  any  given  kind  of  matter,  as  mentioned  in  the 
story  of  Nala  and  Damayanti  in  the  Mahabharata, 
and  many  another  marvel  which  we  can  scarcely 
even  conceive  of  to-day.  Then  will  Manu's  ideal  be 
fully  restored.  And  to  help  in  such  restoration  is 
the  mission  of  Theosophy  to  the  modern  world. 

Whatever   glimpses   are   given   of   the  future,  in 
the    Puranas    and   modern   Tbeosophical   literature, 

i  Metnu,  iv.  148,  149. 


840  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

support  the  belief  in  this  restoration  of  Manu's 
ideal.  The  next  type  of  civilisation  (including  the 
sixth  and  seventh  sub-races  of  the  present  Root-Race, 
at  their  best,  before  their  decay,  and  the  earlier 
sub-races  of  the  sixth  Root-Race  which  will  coincide 
in  time  with  the  former),  will  show  a  fuller  and 
richer  content  of  mental  and  physical  wealth, 
possessed  in  the  spirit  of  true  communism,  till  the 
whole  physical  and  psychical  constitution  of  the 
race  changes  in  some  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
years.1  Then  the  present  pages  of  Manu  will  be- 
come inapplicable,  except  as  to  the  basic  Theory  of 
Life,  and  a  new  Manu  will  write  new  pages  accord- 
ing to  the  needs  of  that  distant  time. 

CONCLUSION 

Within  this  well-proportioned  and  well-balanced 
scheme  of  our  present  Manu,  Avatar  as  and  Teach- 
ers, great  and  small,  have  arisen  in  the  latter 
ages,  who  have  laid  greater  stress  on  some  one 
aspect  of  the  D  h  a  r  m  a  than  on  the  other  factors 
of  a  just  life.  This  has  been  largely  due  to  the 
same  reason  as  ordains  that  in  any  master-piece 
of  Art  all  qualities  may  not  equally  be  shown. 
No  sculptor,  however  deft,  can  carve  into  one 
figure  strength  in  action,  grace,  and  the  perfection 

1 A  little  over  four  hundred  thousand  from  now 
according1  to  the  Bhavighya  Purana,  when  the  Kali  Yuga 
of  the  fifth  Root-Race  will  end  and  the  Satya  of  the  Sixth 
be  in  full  swing. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  341 

of  repose.  No  musician,  however  great  his  genius, 
can  express  simultaneously  pathos,  joyousness,  and 
heroic  prowess.  No  painter,  however  endowed, 
can  limn  on  one  canvas  the  glory  of  the  raintime 
sunset,  the  terror  of  the  tempest,  and  the  serenity 
of  the  snow-clad  peak.  No  one  individual  and 
no  one  race  can  show  forth  all  the  virtues  in 
perfection,  synchronously.  Each  develops  and 
manifests  pre-eminently  but  one  of  the  infinite 
glories  of  the  Self.  Succession  belongs  to  time  ; 
simultaneity  is  only  in  Eternity.  And  so  human 
perfection  must  be  accomplished  by  the  evolution 
of  various  qualities  in  various  Races  and  sub-races, 
and  cannot  be  found  in  one  alone. 

Also,  as  said  before,  when  any  one  aspect  of 
human  nature  runs  to  excess  and  so  breeds  evil 
in  any  Race  or  sub-race,  an  opposite  quality  has 
to  be  exaggerated  by  the  Guardians  of  Humanity 
to  readjust  and  restore  the  disturbed  balance  by 
reaction. 

Hence  the  doctrines  of  karma  and  rebirth — 
explanatory  of  the  past,  consolatory  in  the  present, 
mandatory  for  the  future — when  distorted  into 
apathy  and  fatalism  in  India,  dropped  out  of 
Christianity  and  Islam,  and  even  the  principle,  as 
enunciated  by  them,  of  individual  salvation  by 
submission  to  the  Divine  Will,  became  a  means  to 
'  individualism '  and  an  instrument  of  aggressive 
conversion,  in  order  that  effort  and  egoism  might 


342  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

be  stimulated.  Now  that  these  are  excessive,  they 
are  being  restored,  in  order  to  calm  down  the  nerve- 
destroying  fever  of  speed-lust,  which  seeks  to 
exhaust  the  experiences  of  a  whole  cycle  with- 
in a  single  life,  regarded  as  the  only  avail- 
able life,  and  invents  moving  platforms  and  piers  to 
serve  rushing  trains  and  steamers  that  will  not 
stop,  and  cuts  down  sentences  to  words  and  words 
to  letters,  to  save  men's  valuable  'time  which  is 
money'  for — they  know  not  what. 

In  the  separate  sub-races  of  the  fifth  Root- 
Race  the  dominating  feature  has  been  the  growth 
of  the  separative  egoistic  intelligence,  with  its 
natural  accompaniment  of  competition,  bringing  it 
within  measurable  distance  of  Race-suicide,  despite 
the  warnings  of  its  Manu.  Now,  satiated  with  this 
in  its  fifth  sub-race,  it  is  turning  towards  conscious 
co-operation.  As  the  principle  underlying  competi- 
tion is  the  self-asserting,  detail-seeking,  concrete- 
minded,  extreme-pointed  and  divisive  intelligence 
— M  anas;  so  that  underlying  co-operation  is 
the  altruistic,  generalisation-seeking,  abstract-mind- 
ed, mean-pointed,  reconciliation-making  reason — 
B  u  d  d  h  i.  The  lower  body  and  mind  grow  by 
self-assertion,  the  higher  by  self-surrender.  The 
body  of  the  adversary  i^  conquered  by  strength, 
his  soul  by  humility. 

To  impress  these  new  characteristics  on  the 
jivas  who  are  to  form  the  first  nuclei  of 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  343 

the  new  sub-race  and  Race,  the  later  Teachers 
have  laid  chief  stress  on  love  and  self-surrender. 
The  Buddha,  with  all  His  emphasis  on  Right 
Knowledge,  became  known  as  the  Lord  of  Com- 
passion by  His  life,  and  the  very  exaggeration 
of  His  teaching  of  non-individuality,  in  reason, 
works  for  the  feeling  of  self -surrender  and  non- 
individualism  in  ethics  and  practice.  The  Christ, 
with  His  teaching  of  utter  submission  to  the 
Divine  Will,  and  by  the  devotion  evoked  by 
His  life,  led  men  in  the  same  direction — to  make 
their  submission  to  The  Grood  so  much  the  more 
noble  for  the  greater  growth  and  strength  of  evil 
egoism  developed  and  transcended.  The  prophet 
Muhammad  took  Islam — '  Submission  to  God ' — as 
the  best  description  of  His  religion. 

Just  before  the  beginning  of  the  Kali-Yuga,  the 
black  age  of  iron  egoism,  the  Lord  appeared  as 
Krshna  to  bind  the  hearts  of  men  to  Himself  in  many 
bonds,  and  so,  even  while  ushering  in  the  inevitable 
age  of  strife  and  discord,  to  do  this  under  the  best 
possible  conditions  and  the  strongest  safeguards 
for  His  beloved  children.  Narada  said  to  Yudhish- 
thirn  : 

Many  are  the  j  I  v  a  s  that  have  gone  to  His 
Abode  of  Peace,  because  they  bound  their  minds 
to  Him  with  bonds  of  even  lust  and  hate 
and  fear,  as  others  did  with  those  of  love  and 
uttermost  devotion.  The  dairy-maids  did  so  by 


344  MANU    IN    THR    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

love  of  His  all-compelling,  maddening,  soul- 
intoxicating  physical  beauty.  Kamsa  did  so  by 
the  stress  of  fear.  The  mighty  Titan-kings 
and  Shishupala  and  Dantavaktra  gained  their 
ends  by  rage  and  wrath  and  hate.  The  Vrshuis 
by  the  bonds  of  blood-relationship.  You,  the 
thrice-happy  sons  of  Pandu,  by  sweet  friendship 
and  affection.  We,  the  Rshis,  by  conditionless 
submission  and  devotion.  Tie  your  minds  to 
Him,  ye  sons  of  Manu  !  tie  your  minds  to  Him, 
in  any  way  you  can,  but  tie  your  minds  unto  the 
Diamond-Soul.  The  wise  call  Krshua,  the  'At- 
tracter,  '  because  by  this  name  He  draws  the  souls 
of  all  unto  Himself.  ' 

Only  by  so  fixing  the  soul  on  an  Ideal,  by  in- 
ner and  outer  reiteration  (j  a  p  a)  in  thought,  word 
and  deed,  of  that  Ideal,  may  the  centre  of  that 
higher  individuality  be  developed  and  strengthened 
which  is  the  vehicle  of  what  is  known  as  Personal 
Immortality.  What  Krshna  is  in  His  deepest 
essence,  Prahrada  explains  to  his  child-companions 
and  to  us  : 


u^  ll) 
Vishnn  Bhnyarata,  VII.  i.  29-31. 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  345 

He  is  the  One,  the  Highest,  the  Sovereign 
Lord  of  all  the  powers  and  forces.  He  is 
the  Unperishing.  He  is  the  Inner  Self  of 
all.  And  He  is  also  all  that  manifests.  It 
takes  no  labor  at  all  to  propitiate  Him  and 
gain  His  favor.  For  He  is  verily  the  Self 
of  all  beings,  and  is  everywhere,  indefeasi- 
bly  self-proven,  the  One  Beloved  of  all  souls, 
ever  most  near  and  dear.  Therefore  let  us  all 
cast  off  this  Asura-mood  of  pride  and  selfishness, 
and  cultivate  love  and  sympathy  for  all  beings  — 
for  thus  alone  can  we  please  Him  who  is  the 
Overlord  of  all  the  senses  and  of  all  sentient 
beings.  J 
The  holy  word  of  the  Veda  says  the  same  : 

Worship  ye  the  Universal  Self  as  the  One 
and  Only  Beloved...  For  the  sake  of  the  Self 
alone  is  all  else  dear.  a 

The  many  subsequent  minor  avataras,  saints, 
prophets  and  teachers,  of  East  and  West  alike  have 
repeated  the  same.  And  all  this  teaching,  from 


u 

Ibid,  VII.  vi.  21-24. 


Brhaduranyaka  Upanishal,  I.  iv.  8,  and  II.  iv.  5. 


346  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OP    THEOSOPHY 

Krshna  onwards,  may  be  regarded  from  the  stand- 
point of  our  particular  evolution — apart  from  its  eter- 
nal and  intrinsic  value — as  converging  on  the  inten- 
tion to  lead  the  combative  fifth  Race  through  its  own 
sixth  sub-race  to  the  new  epoch  when  love  and  wisdom 
shall  reign  on  earth  in  place  of  hate  and  cunning. 
H.  P.  Blavatsky  says  : 

The  Americans... are,  in  short,  the  germs  of 
the  sixth  sub-race,  and  in  some  few  hundred 
years  more,  will  become  decidedly  the  pioneers 
of  that  race  which  must  succeed  to  the  present 
European  fifth  sub-race,  in  all  its  new  charac- 
teristics. After  this,  in  about  25,000  years,  they 
will  launch  into  preparations  for  the  seventh 
sub-race,  until  in  consequence  of  cataclysms... 
the  sixth  Boot-Race  will  have  appeared  on 
the  stage  of  our  Round.  ...  It  will  silently 
come  into  existence  ;  so  silently,  indeed,  that 
for  long  millenniums  shall  its  pioneers — 
the  peculiar  children  who  will  grow  into 
peculiar  men  and  women — be  regarded  as 
anomalous  luxus  naturse  ....  Then,  as  they 
increase,  and  their  numbers  become  with 
every  age  greater,  one  day  they  will  awake 
to  find  themselves  in  the  majority  .  .  .  This 
process  of  preparation  for  the  sixth  great 
Race  must  last  throughout  the  whole  sixth 

and    seventh    sub-races The      cycles     of 

matter    will    be    succeeded    by  cycles  of  spiritu- 
ality    and    a   fully     developed    mind.     On    the 


FAMILY    LIFE    AND    ECONOMICS  347 

law    of   parallel  history  and  races,  the  majority 
of   the    future    mankind    will    be    composed     of 

glorious     adepts Thus    will     mankind, 

race   after  race,    perform    its    appointed    cycle- 
pilgrimage.1 

This  sixth  Root-Race  will  be  the  Race  which  will 
most  manifest  B  u  d  d  h  i,  the  sixth  principle,  in 
this  kalpa,  and  it  will  apparently  be  double- 
sexed  again  like  the  second  Root-Race,  as  is  in 
accordance  with  the  characteristic  of  B  u  d  d  h  i, 
which  is  two-sided,  and  ever  reconciles  and  com- 
bines into  one  the  two  halves  of  each  whole 
truth.  Therefore,  the  details  of  the  daily  life 
and  laws  and  manners  and  customs  of  that 
glorious  Race,  when  fully  evolved  and  living  on 
its  own  continent,  must  be  very  different  from 
those  of  the  present  time,  although  the  ensoul- 
ing selves  will  be  largely  the  same  as  those  of 
to-day.  But  whatever  the  surface-differences  may 
be,  the  basic  Theory  of  Life  and  the  vital  swing 
of  Pursuit  and  Return  will  still  hold  sway,  and 
Self-realisation  must  ever  be  the  one  sole  motive 
of  infinitely  manifested  life. 

Great  Avataras  have  come  in  the  past  and 
will  come  again  in  the  future,  whose  grand 
figures  loom  and  names  of  might  echo  through 
the  haze  of  the  ages.  They  have  come  and 
will  come  to  close  great  epochs  and  to  open 

i  The  Secret  Doctrine,   ii.  pp.444-446.    (Old  Ed.) 


348  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

greater  ones,  to  call  to  birth  new  civilisations 
out  of  the  ashes  of  the  older  forms  of  that 
self-same  Phosnix,  the  Human  Race.  Smaller 
Messiahs,  Messengers,  Prophets  and  saintly  Teachers 
have  performed  and  will  perform  similar  func- 
tions with  regard  to  smaller  cycles  and  sub- 
cycles  and  phases  of  civilisation.  But  the  inner- 
most Truth,  the  one  burden  of  the  teaching  of 
all,  the  purpose  of  the  civilisation  founded  or 
modified  by  each,  indeed  the  purpose  of  all  the 
Races,  Rounds,  Chains  and  Systems  of  all  times 
and  all  spaces,  providing  ever  richer  and  richer 
foil  and  back-ground  of  more  and  more  perfect 
organs  of  sensation  and  action,  and  more  and 
more  complex  channels  of  ever  more  varied  ex- 
periences of  endless  shades  and  grades  of  matter 
—  the  one  purpose  of  all  this  ever  has  been 
and  evermore  shall  be,  by  ever  deeper  Yoga, 
to  behold  ever  more  fully  the  Infinite  Grlory  of 
the  Eternal  Self.  . 


rT!T*m*1*U 


Manu,  xiii.  85  ;  Ydjnavalkya,  i.  S. 


PEACE  TO  ALL  BEINGS 


APPENDIX 


In  the  course  of  the  studies  embodied  in  these 
discourses,  we  have  seen  that  the  one  secret : 

(i.)  Of  successful  education — is  pre-deterinination 
of  vocation,  with  training  in  manners,  morals, 
clean  habits  of  body  and  mind,  and  in  prayers 
and  high  aspirations  (and  not  extremes  of  uni- 
formity on  the  one  hand  and  endless  options  and 
specialisations  on  the  other,  both  with  exclusion 
of  morals  and  its  only  basis,  essential  religion). 

(ii.)  Of  happy  domesticity — well-advised  marriage 
between  persons  of  parity  of  mental  and  physi- 
cal temperaments,  and  possessed  of  sense-control, 
soul-fidelity,  and  a  constant  sense  of  the  higher 
purpose  of  marriage,  viz.,  happy  progeny  (and 
not  divorces,  temporary  marriages,  civil  contracts, 
i'e-marriages,  widow-and- widower  marriages,  etc.). 

(iii.)   Of  effective  economics — regulation  of  popula- 
tion    by     self-restraint      (and     not    immoral     ways), 
and    the     division    of   the    social     labor    by    regula- 
tion   (and    not    haphazard    competition). 
23 


350  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT   OF    THEOSOPHY 

(iv.)  Of  health  and  sanitation — avoidance  of 
overcrowding  and  clean  living,  with  clean  food, 
clean  air,  clean  surroundings  (and  not  drugging 
and  inoculation  and  disinfectants). 

(v.)  Of  genuine  government — government  by  the 
trusted,  disinterested,  patriarchal,  holy-living,  wise 
(and  neither  despotism  nor  representation  of  hordes 
of  warring  opinions  by  the  interested). 

(vi.)  Of  all  success  in  every  department  of  life, 
individual,  national,  racial — the  spread  of  Adhy- 
atma-Vidya,  the  principles  of  the  Science  of  the 
Self,  and  the  consequent  growth  of  the  right  spirit. 

It  is  obvious  that  to  restore  the  old  scheme 
in  its  entirety  is  impossible,  even  perhaps  in 
hundreds  of  years ;  and  then  too,  by  a  law  of 
nature,  the  future  cannot  be  an  exact  copy  of 
the  past.  The  spirit  of  the  old  scheme  will  be 
restored,  the  forms  will  be  richer  and  more 
elastic. 

How  then  to  work,  ad  interim;  what  are  the 
first  steps  to  take  in  the  present  and  the  imme- 
diate future,  from  the  practical  standpoint  ? 

A  few  suggestions  are  submitted  herewith,  for 
general  use,  but  with  special  reference  to  Indian 
conditions — to  be  approved  or  laughed  at,  reject- 
ed or  accepted,  utilised  or  thrown  aside  in  part 
or  in  toto,  altered,  amended,  improved,  replaced 
by  others,  as  may  seem  fit  to  the  reader  and 
the  worker. 


APPENDIX  351 

(1)  The    first  and  the  most  important  thing  to  do, 
as   the    preparation    for    and    the    foundation  of  all 
else,  is  to   spread  '  Right    Knowledge/  to    '  educate 
public    opinion '    as  the    modern   phrase  is.     Private 
persons      and     public      persons,     individuals      and 
governments,     should    '  recognise '    Theosophy,    and 
should  spread  the  knowledge  of  its  main  principles 
and  broad  outlines  by  means  of  catechisms,  pamph- 
lets,   text-books,    hand-books,    magazine    and   news- 
paper articles  and  lectures  and  discourses,  amongst 
students    and    the  general  public.     Thus  only  shall 
human  beings  of  all  faiths,  all  schools  of  thought,  all 
sciences,   all  other  departments  of  learning  and   of 
working,    gradually     abate     their     differences     and 
enhance  their  points  of  agreement,  to  the   common 
good  of  all,  and  the  growth  of  the  spirit  of  conscious 
co-operation  everywhere. 

(2)  All  Teachers  should  be  specially  trained  for 
their  work,  by  a  comparatively  long  course  of 
studies  and  travels ;  should  be  householders  (or 
*  retired '),  of  patriarchal  heart  and  beyond  middle 
age.  They  should  be  remunerated  largely  with 
marks  of  honor  and  not  have  high  or  progressive 
salaries  in  cash ;  but  should  have  all  needed  food, 
clothes,  housing,  and  other  necessary  help  and 
comforts  provided  for  them  and  their  families  by 
the  managing  authorities  of  educational  institutions, 
in  such  a  way  that  the  teachers  may  have  a  mini- 
mum of  worry  over  administrative  family  details. 


352  MAKU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

(The  methods  and  rules  of  missionary  bodies 
working  through  Schools  and  Colleges  in  India,  and 
of  such  institutions  as  the  Fergusson  College  of 
Poona  or  the  Central  Hindu  College  of  Benares, 
are  more  or  less  imperfect  examples.) 

(3)  Elders,    over  fifty  years   of  age,  retired  from 
the  competitions  of  livelihood,  experienced  in  human 
character    in    all  its    varieties,  and  of  special  learn- 
ing   in    psycho-physics,    anthropology,    and  all  such 
( sciences '    as    concern    themselves  with    the    ascer- 
tainment   of   men's    temperaments    and  peculiarities 
and  abilities  and  disabilities,   should  be  attached  to 
all    educational     institutions    or     groups     of     such. 
They  should  advise — not  compel — parents  and  teach- 
ers    with     regard     to     the     possibilities     and     the 
natural    vocations   of  each  child  and  youth  and  the 
appropriate    courses    of    study    for    him.      Their  re- 
muneration should  be  like  that  of  the  Teachers. 

(4)  The     School-course    should    include,    for    all 
children,     instruction     and     training     in     habits    of 
physical    cleanliness ;     exercises    in    breathing     and 
of    other  kinds,  especially  those  without  apparatus ; 
systematic    military    drills    and  evolutions   and  fenc- 
ing   with    sticks    and    shooting      with     bows      and 
arrows     (just    to    strengthen  the   arms    and  should- 
ers    and     give     a     habit    of    accuracy     in     aiming, 
at    small    cost] ;     lessons     in     the    cooking    of   food ; 
training    in     manners,     morals     and     prayers ;     the 
usual   three  '  Ks  ',  geography,  the  elements  of  some 


APPENDIX  353 

one  physical  science,  and  some  one  physical  art, 
according  to  special  proclivities,  the  outlines  of 
the  History  of  the  Human  Race,  (as  given  in  the 
Puranas  and  The  Secret  Doctrine]  with  its  fairy  tales, 
to  be  elucidated  later  in  the  college-days  of  speci- 
alisation for  vocations.  Instruction,  especially  in 
the  school-department,  should  be  largely  oral  and 
mnemonic,  and  elaobrate  appliances  and  expensive 
buildings  and  apparatus  should  be  dispensed  with 
as  much  as  possible.  The  hours  of  study  should  be 
morning  and  evening. 

(5)  The  State  should  issue  manuals,  for 
the  use  of  officials  and  non-officials  alike,  giving 
them  appropriate  ethical  teaching  as  to  the  spirit  in 
which  each  member  of  the  community  and  the  public 
service  should  do  his  work ;  and  also  laying 
down  detailed  codes  of  manners  and  etiquette 
to  be  observed  towards  superiors,  equals  and 
inferiors,  by  the  people  in  different  departments 
and  walks  of  life,  from  student  to  retired  ascetic, 
from  manual  worker  and  laborer  to  Sovereign. 
These  manuals  should  carefully  point  out  the  far- 
reaching  consequences  of  the  spirit,  the  feeling, 
the  mood  of  mind,  with  which  the  work  is  done — 
the  evil  consequences  of  arrogance  and  distrust 
and  fear  and  hate  and  malice,  the  good  ones 
of  benevolence,  trust,  friendliness,  regard  and 
respect ;  and  should  point  out  the  uses  of  the 
obsei-vances  of  etiquette  in  promoting  good  feeling 


354  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE08OPHY 

and  the  right  and  appropriate  mood  of  mind. 
The  State  should  also  arrange  to  make  sure 
that  the  persons  concerned  know  the  contents  of 
these  manuals.  Following  on  knowledge  will 
generally  come  conscience. 

(6)  As  for  help  in  the  choice  of  appropriate 
education,  so  for  help  in  the  following  out  and 
settling  of  marriage-choices,  the  State  should 
appoint  Elders,  who  should  advise  only,  and  when 
consulted.  Such  Elders  should  possess  knowledge  of 
psycho-physics,  pathology,  astrology,  etc.,  and  the 
loving  wisdom  of  the  true  priest  in  a  special  degree. 
Manuals  giving  useful  and  necessary  information  on 
the  sex-life  and  the  conditions  of  healthy,  hand- 
some, happy  progeny,  as  acertained  by  the  best 
available  science  of  the  day,  checked  by  the 
teachings  contained  on  this  all-important  subject 
ID  the  Scriptures  of  all  the  nations,  should  be 
provided  by  Governments  to  all  married  pairs, 
as  the  Sovereign's  patriarchal  and  most 
valuable  marriage-gift  to  them.  These  books 
should  contain  warnings  against  sex-mistakes  and 
conjugal  excesses  and  against  excessive  progeni- 
tion,  pointing  out  the  evil  consequences. 

(7)  Similiar  manuals  on  sanitation  should  be 
provided  by  Governments  to  all  householders. 
These  should  contain  plans  for  model  dwelling- 
houses  and  gardens,  so  that  intending  builders 
ms.y  endeavor  to  follow  them  if  they  please. 


APPENDIX  355 

Municipal  and  other  local  authorities  should  as 
far  as  possible  insist  that  new  houses,  large 
or  small,  shall  be  built  so  as  to  stand  clear, 
each  in  its  own  grounds,  and  that  proportionate  areas 
of  open  common  and  of  scrub  and  wooded  jungle 
shall  be  attached  to  every  habited  site. 

(8)  Bureaus  of  information  should  be  established 
by   the    State,  presided    over  by     Elders      (of    the 
type  mentioned),     possessing   special   knowledge   of 
economical  affairs,    which   should    give    advice    and 
information      to     all     people     desiring     them    with 
a    view  to    newly     taking  up  a  vocation,   regarding 
the     business-openings      most     suitable     and    avail- 
able   for    each. 

(9)  The    excessive    multiplication   of    books    and 
papers     should    be     discouraged     (not    compulsorily 
prohibited)    by     Governments.      They    should   issue 
special  authorisations  to  Elders    (of  the  type  men- 
tioned, and  remunerated  with  honor   and   the  means 
of  subsistence  by  the  Government,  and  not  allowed 
to  make  monetary  profits  out  of  their  books,  etc.,  for 
the   publication   of   books    and   periodicals   and    the 
delivery     of   oral   lectures    and   discourses,     dealing 
with   the  various  departments  of  life,  knowledge  and 
action.     But  others  should  not   be  prohibited,  unless 
they     publish     things     positively      hurtful     to     the 
mental    and  physical  health  of  the  community.     The 
State     should    however   make    it    generally     known 
that    it   officially     considers    only    the     publications 


356  MANU    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    THEOSOPHY 

of  the  authorised  Elders  to  be  beneficial  for  its 
people ;  and  should  also  issue  lists  of  books  that 
they  consider  healthy  and  instructive,  but  without 
proscribing  any  others  that  are  not  positively 
deleterious. 

(10)  Governments     should     also     encourage,     and 
as    far    as    possible     help     out    of    public      funds, 
such    traditional    forms  of  amusement  and  recreation, 
— pageants,  passion-plays,    scriptural    and   historical 
dramas,    songs,  recitations  from  noble  books,  observan- 
ces of  holy  days   — as   tend   to    exercise   a  healthy 
and    elevating    influence    upon     the   mind     of    the 
less    educated    masses     and   keep   them   from    pas- 
times,   addictions    and    occupations,  that    are  waste- 
ful   of  body   and   soul,   such    as   intoxicating  drugs, 
litigation,    gambling,    and   domestic    quarrels. 

(11)  Judicial     and     executive     authorities     should 
be    instructed     to     encourage     and     help     in     ami- 
cable    settlements      and      arbitrations     as     far     as 
possible,    in    such   fashion     that     substantial     justice 
may   be    secured,    in    all    matters    where    such    com- 
pounding  and   settling   is    at  all    permissible. 

(12)  Private   owners   of   wealth  should  be  encour- 
aged,   by    edicts    in    the    name    of    the    Sovereign, 
to  throw    open    their    permanent     possessions,     like 
palaces,    parks,     gardens,     art-collections,      to      the 
visits     of    the   poorer    population    of  the   neighbor- 
hood,     on     fixed     days     in     the     week,      or      other 
holidays,  and   to   provide   for   them    little    dinners, 


APPENDIX  357 

and  other  such  social  amenities,  from  time  to 
time,  especially  on  the  occasions  of  rejoicings 
in  the  family — briefly,  to  establish  '  f amily-relations ' 
with  them,  retaining  for  themselves  the  right- 
eous pride  and  privilege  of  '  the  benefactor  and 
the  patriarch'  and  gradually  throwing  off  the 
false  and  evil  pride  and  privilege  of  *  the  rich 
man5.  Such  wealthy  persons  should  also  be  en- 
couraged to  maintain  permanent  guest-rooms. 
And  wealth  without  education,  or  good  character, 
or  public  charity  and  good  work,  should  be 
discountenanced  and  placed  low  in  or  altogether 
excluded  from  '  warrants  of  precedence '  for 
official  and  social  functions,  and  otherwise  publicly 
censured  by  the  Government. 

(13)  Officials     should    be    paid    principally    with 
marks     of   honor,    and    with    cash   only    to    the    ex- 
tent   of    necessary    comforts.       The    senior     offices 
should  especially  be  manned  by  Elders  of  the  type 
mentioned.     All    possible     steps     should    be    taken, 
in   short,   by   the    State   to    discourage     the    greed 
for  mere   money   and  luxuries  and  sense  of  power. 

(14)  The   chief   legislatures   of   the  nations  should 
consist,     besides    the     Sovereign     and   the    highest 
officials,     largely   of    disinterested    and    benevolent 
patriarchs    and    matriarchs    of  advanced    age,   be- 
yond   fifty    at   least,    whose    only    interest    is    the 
welfare    of   the  whole    nation     which     is     as    their 
progeny    to     them,     who     have     themselves   retired 


358  MANU    IN   THE    LIGHT   OF    THEOSOPHY 

from  all  competitive  business  and  represent  no 
special  interest  and  constituency,  whose  experience 
is  the  widest  in  the  land,  whose  wisdom,  character 
and  expert  knowledge  the  most  trusted  and 
reverenced.  As  far  as  possible,  they  should  be 
elected  by  an  electorate  composed  of  the  middle- 
aged  fathers  and  mothers  of  families  fulfilling 
educational  conditions,  and  out  of  lists  of  no- 
minations published  by  members  of  the  electorate 
and  the  government,  without  any  canvassing  or 
rivalry  of  candidature  or  any  eifort  whatsoever  on 
the  part  of  those  to  be  elected.  Their  only  re- 
muneration should  be  special  marks  of  honor. 


This  Work  is 
Inscribed 

to 

A.  B. 

My  Mother, 

— -physical  in  past  lives, 

superphysical  in  this — 

by  whose  wish 

it  was 
composed. 


If   I   were   lost   in   the   darkest  night, 

I    know  whose  face  would  bring  me  light, 

Mother  mine,   O    mother    mine. 

If    I    were   faltering   and  weak   of  sight, 
I  know  whose  hands  would  guide  me  right, 

Mother   mine,   O    mother    mine. 

If   I   were   sunk   in   the   sorest   sin, 

I  know   whose   sighs   would   cleansing  win, 

Mother   mine,   O   mother   mine. 

If   I   were   black   with   the   burn  of  blight, 
I   know   whose  tears  would  wash  me  white, 

Mother   mine,    O   mother    mine. 

If   I   were   dying   in     body    and   soul, 

I  know  whose  prayers  would  make  me  whole. 

Mother   mine,    O   mother    mine. 


WORKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 

The  Science  of  the  Emotions.  Second  Edition. 
Cloth,  pp.  259.  Price  Rs.  3.  or  4/- 

The  Science  of  Peace.  Cloth,  pp.  347.  Price 
Ra.  *-8.  or  6/- 

In  the  Press. 

Pranava-Yada. 

The  Science  of  the  Sacred  Word  being  the 
translation  of  an  Ancient  book,  Pranava-Yada 
by  Gargyayana.  Appearing  for  the  first  time 
in  print. 


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